Hopeful Path
by Proxy4818
Summary: An ordinary natural named Eric and his foster family on the colony Heliopolis are dragged into the bloody valentine war when 4 of 5 prototype gundams are stolen and Eric stumbles upon a secret sixth. Self insert story.
1. Chapter 1

**OK so this particualr idea popped into my head due to me wanting to try a selt insert plus it was between this and a cross over between gundam seed and wing/ac featering Heero X Lacus because I personally think they'd make a great pairing due to how in some ways Lacus and Relena are alike. Not in the being a naive cling on who refuses to acknowledge the need to fight kind way but having a general disbain for war, plus they're both charismic figures, and much like Relena I think Lacus would be able to bring out the more humanitarian part of Heero like Relena did when Heero saved her when her school was attacked and I think that particular factor makes for great relationship development.**

 **I might (no promises) go through with the idea at a later time but not right now because if I ever do I want to make sure a good result comes out in terms of story quality.**

 **Minor confession I actually just got back in to the gundam series recently so I've been watching many different series along with Seed which brings me to a point I want bring up now so people aren't left wandering why later. I'm gonna stick with the general cannon story line to a good extent however I'm not gonna follow canon detail for detail for two reasons. One it's make things incredibly easy to predict and while I watched all of Seed(and not seed destiny) i've also been watching a few other series so I know general plot but I don't remeber every little scene word for word so changes in dialauge will occure and in fight scenes because for the life of me I can't recall every weapon every single mobile suit has though I'll most likely sniff around and find out later but I still don't intend to have fight scenes follow cannon blow for blow.**

* * *

In the middle of a park a boy was viewing a lab top screen which displayed a video an elegant teen female pop star idle with long pink flowing hair singing on a stage in front of a large number of people.

The idle in question was a recent pop artist who quickly rose to the top in terms of popularity and for good reason.

She not only had talent that allowed her to excel in her particular profession but unlike other artistes she honestly put her heart into her songs earning a lot of charisma and popularity even on the earth.

"Lacus Clyne sure knows how to blow people away with her songs." A voice said.

The boy turned to see his younger step bother and sighed. "Callahan you could've arrived here sooner."

Callahan had brown spiky hair and an average white complexion and wore a simple blue short sleeved short along with tan pants.

"Yeah but I don't really see that harm in taking my time somewhat, we've got nothing urgent going on." Callahan said before glancing at the lab top screen still showing a video of the famous singer.

"You know it would probably be a dream come true to meet a girl like Lacus don't ya think?"

The first boy shrugged."I guess."

"Come Eric. You might not show it openly but even you're a big fan of hers."

The boy identified as Eric and a mixed tan skin complexion, plain black hair and eyes that were a really dark shade of brown to the point they were almost black making the pupils barely visible. His attire consisted of blue jeans, with a gray hoodie zipped up halfway revealing a yellow shirt underneath.

"As nice as seeing the most famous idle of the plants and probably the entire earth sphere would it's not gonna happen."

"Don't be like that there's always an off chance it can happen."

Eric sighed in slight annoyance "Chances are pretty close to zero, if there was a number to be put on it said number's probably in the single digits."

"Still not zero." Callahan chimed.

"If you say so." Eric said closing the laptop. "Anyway how are our friends doing."

"Fine from what I've heard Kira is writing some paper for the teacher at our school."

"Seriously? The I know that guy likes to be of assistance but Kato leans on Kira way too much."

"How do you know?"

"This isn't the first time which brings up the point that the teacher needs to stop using him simply because he's a coordinator."

"Hey cut the prof some slack from what I hear he's got a serious writing problem."

"Then maybe he should work on fixing it."

"Yeah yeah come on let's see the others." with that Callahan went off deeper into the park followed by Eric.

"Oh by the way did hear about Sai?"

"Um no."

"He sent a love letter to Flay."

"Oh." Eric had actually met the two few times Sai simply seemed like he an ok person if a little dunce at times. Flay on the other hand was someone Eric just plain disliked.

Though she was easy on the eyes and initially tried to come off as friendly cracks showed in her faced in the form of her being a typical stick up the ass brat who thinks the world revolves around and based off a few things she'd say about coordinators here and there more than likely a racist.

Considering the two individuals in question were arranged to be married where a lot of others (boys) envied Sai for being betrothed to Flay due to her good looks Eric pitied him. Sai and others may have thought he was lucky but Eric suspected the truth was contrary to popular belief.

"Come can't you show a little interest or envy"

"Nnoooot really."

"Stuck on a certain pink haired Idle?"

"Only you think that."

"Riiigght anyway let's see what the prof has Kira helping with today."

XXXXX

"Hurry up we need the OS completed so the machine can be operated." The voice of a middle aged almost elderly male called out.

"But sir shouldn't we be giving this over to the Earth Alliance?"

"To hell with them. With blue cosmos exerting so much influence within their ranks giving the machine to them along with the original five would merely usher the world further along the path it's already been condemned to."

"But both the alliance and Orb will want answers."

"If your so worried then you can give them the answers."

"But if it was discovered we were acting without Orb's or the Earth Alliance's knowledge both sides would..."

"I don't give a damn about either of their wraths one side is fundamentally corrupt to its' very core and the other is ruled by a naive fool who believes that by merely flaunting idealism he's accomplishing something."

"..."

Looking at a humanoid shaped machine that was almost completely obscured by the shadow of the building cast over it with the exception of it's blue eyes which were hit by what little sunlight there was inside the building the first man merely pondered the purpose surrounding it's existence.

"With this the world may possibly be set on a much more just path."

XXXXX

"So Kira what does the teacher want you to help with today?" Callahan asked.

"Oh just a new program the professor wanted to show the school directors."

"So he went from asking about papers to PC programs?" Eric asked.

"What did we talk about involving slack?"

"Something extremely brief and that I don't recall ever agreeing to."

"Got me there." Callahan said scratching the back of his head.

"It's alright I really don't mind helping him out." Kira said.

"If you insist." Eric said though he still felt the professor was dependant on Kira too much.

"So what have you two been up to." A boy named Tolle who sat next to a girl he was dating named Miriallia.

"Just the usual with me watching news of the war and Eric watching Lacus Clyne's videos."

Tolle smiled at that."It's nice to know there are fellow fans around."

"Well to be clear I only watch them occasionally so please don't fall for any exaggerations that my little brother might try to paint." Eric said.

"Alright maybe you're not watching all the time but you usually are when you're not visiting with that researcher guy you met a year back." Callahan said.

Tolle was about to speak when a red haired girl and two of her friends were walking by.

'Not the particularly the first person I wanted to see.' Thought Eric as the red head came closer revealing herself to be Flay Allster.

"Flay what have you been up to?" asked Miriallia.

Flay remained silent as if unsure how to answer to particular question or too embarrassed to and the reason soon found out when one of the two accompanying the redhead spoke up.

"Flay tell her about the letter you got."

At this Flay's face tinged red slightly in response. "What letter?" Miriallia inquired.

"Flay got a love letter from Sai Argyle."

Eric watched with less then moderate interest as the conversation dragged on and glance at Kira who's head hung downward slightly and mentally sighed.

'Kira I hope you realize soon that she's not worth it, cause even if anything were to happen between the two of you odds are it'd have a bad ending.'

It may have been derived from the calm atmosphere the colony gave off or maybe it was due to the fact that the said colony was apart of the neutral nation which made people think the idea of what happened next was impossible.

However against what the people would have liked to believe a loud booming sound of suddenly went off in the distance and soon after the ground shook causing most were standing to fall to it.

"What the-What was that?!" Callahan asked all but panicking.

Eric looked in the direction the sound came from and felt as if his stomach turned to ice.

Fire was coming from the upper stories of a five story skyscraper which was horrifying enough but to matters go from bad to worse a GINN from the plant orginization of Zaft of all things was standing next to the burning structure and shooting at other various facilities.

"It's an attack but why is Zaft here?" Tollo asked.

'Good question. I didn't think the chance of the war reaching here was zero but if we were attacked I'd have had my money on those bastards in the Earth Alliance.' Eric thought.

"We gotta get out of here!" Exclaimed a boy named Kuzzy who had just shown.

"Right let's head for the shelters." Callahan said running in the said direction with everyone following close behind.

XXXXX

Alarms were sounding throughout the entire building alerting everyone inside.

"Director Shirou we need to get you off this colony until the attack has been repelled." A private gunman said as he and the said director ran through the halls of a privately owned facility.

Shirou scowled at the request. "You fool we finish the final programs on the OS for our mobile suit now and have it join the fray."

"But sir that would reveal it's existence to all three sides."

"That was unavoidable in the long term of all this."

Suddenly a third voice spoke up.

"You're right. But unfortunately it's debut will be tide in with its destruction."

Shirou turned to see another person dressed in an all black space suit save a helmet revealing a man with brown hair and a beard pointing a gun at him.

"How did you get here!?" The private gunman exclaimed upon laying eyes on the intruder but refrianed from drawing his own weapon since he'd be shot before he could pull it out of it's hoister.

"Oh it was rather easy with those morons from Zaft attacking the colony for the official five prototypes. They make good distractions albeit unintentionally but it worked in my team's favor none the less."

"Bernard. Still working for that aspiring tyrant I see." Shirou spat at the now identified intruder.

"You know as well as I do our boss wants nothing more than to put an end to all wars ensuring everlasting prosperity."

"Only what he believes to be prosperity."

"Please don't be stubborn about this anyone here knows idealistic thinking alone achieves nothing."

"Believe me I'm well aware of that which is why I intend to take action!" Shirou said before drawing a pistol from his pocket.

Unfortunately Bernards gun was already out and all it would it was simple act of pulling the trigger to stop Shirou's would be resistance something the private gunman had realized.

There was no time to draw his own weapon and fire at the intruder and Shirou's life took precedence in the current situation so the gunman did the only thing he was able to and threw himself on front of Shirou to shield him from the gunshot that would soon come.

XXXXX

"Dammit the shelter's already getting full too!" Exclaimed Callahan after he step in.

Since the group's departure from the park they had made it to the Morgenroete facility where they had initially found a shelter but quickly found out it was close to full.

The result being Flay and her two friends getting in it while the rest of the group to was left to look for another one look for another one.

As soon as they found one Sai, Kuzzy, Tolle, and Miriallia wasted no time getting in but as soon as Callahan got in it beeped signaling it only one more person could enter.

Meaning either Kira or Eric would have to stay behind. To add on to things a figure wearing a thick coat and hat concealing their figure was running through the halls as if in search of something, weather or not was a shelter was unclear.

It didn't help matters when Kira went off after them unintentionally causing Eric to gave chase in the process.

After running through a few halls whilst Kira called after the figure causing them in turn to respond by telling him to stop following them in a voice that sounded as if it was disguised leading Eric to suspect the person Kira was trying to catch up with was actually a girl.

Eventually the three came to a corridor the branched off to the left moderately close to where it's entrance was and to the right further up ahead at the midway point.

Kira had finally caught up with the figure and grabbed ahold of the person who in turn spun around to face him losing their hat in the process.

'So my hunch was right.'

"Will you stop following me already and get to a shelter?"

"You're a girl." Kira said sounding surprised at the fact.

The girl in question scowled at Kira.

"Yeah I am got a problem with that?!"

"No I just..." Kira stopped short when three men in green Zaft uniforms showed up at the end of the hall in the direction the three teens were headed and took aim.

Kira and the unknown girl took down the hall branching off to the right at the mid point of the corridor with two of the three men giving chase.

The third however had taken notice of Eric who had been standing off further toward the back end of the corridor at the last second and took aim at him. With the right branch hall blocked off by the Zaft personnel and no time to run back the other way Eric utilized the only option he had and dashed down the left branching hall which was closer to him.

He heard one or two gunshots go before any foot steps followed meaning he more than likely had somewhat of a head start over his soon to be pursuer.

Alas things quickly turned grim as quickly as the may have looked up in terms of chances of survival when he turned down the only path that was available leading to a hall that had windows showing the outside indicating the hall Eric found himself in led to another building that was separate from the facility he was currently in.

Much to the teen's bafflement and relief the entrance was already open and seemed to have no door. Regardless of reason for the facter Eric simply ran through as quickly as he was able and much to his shock no sooner than he was all the way inside the other building that a thick steel door dropped down sealing him inside.

Stairing at the door Eric began to question the rather put of place convenience of what had happened.

"Well it looks like I won't be able to got back to the others for a while. I hope Kira got away."

XXXXX

Looking at the surveillance camera moniters Shirou who was now in the security room of the private facility after getting away from Bernard with the chance the deceased gunman had bought him at the expense of his own life now watched as a certain teen entered through the entrance connecting the private and montgomery facilities and smiled before typing in a lockdown code resealing the doorway before any member of Zant could get in.

"Hm hm hm it seems now I won't have to frantically search for someone to inherit the torch."

* * *

 **Alright that's it for the first chapter sorry that not much happened. Originally I was going to have go up to the part when the Gundams were obtained but I wanted to post this sooner rather than later.**

 **Pairing are pretty much the usual with exception of the main oc and Lacus.**

 **As for who Kira's gonna be well it's gonna another major OC who wont appear until on the story because I think he needs be with someone and there's no way it's gonna be Flay. She's a horrible person.**

 **Seriously she's as bad as Louise from from the anime familiar of Zero and that's saying something. No really it is if you've seen the anime you should already know why, but I digress.**

 **Basically pairings are.**

 **Eric/Lacus**

 **Athrun/Cagelli**

 **Dearka/Miriallia**

 **Kira/Secret OC ;)**


	2. Unkown Gundam

**Ok I worked as fast as a could to get this out quickly since the first chapter alone isn't really much of a start so your welcome and enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own disclaimer**

 **Also** "speach" 'thought' _"flashback"_

* * *

Looking ahead it was obvious Eric only had one path ahead of him since any doors to the side were all sealed shut.

'Why are all these doorways sealed off is someone trying to hide something here.'

All things considered it might have made sense. Zaft had taken many aggressive actions throughout the war they were currently fighting with the Earth Alliance which was instigated by the latter of the two forces when they decided to nuke a Plant called Junius Seven simply for the sake of killing the coordinators living there.

The Plants retaliated utilizing N jammers which rendered all nuclear power useless. Needless to say the Earth Alliance was persistent in their pursuit to wipe Coordinators out and decided to officially declare war.

After that the Plant organization of Zaft responded in kind. A lot of people assumed the Earth alliance would achieve an easy victory because they outnumbered Zaft almost 10 to 1 but the group protecting the colonies proved that assumption wrong by utilizing superior technology.

The result being the war itself dragging on for over a year now. Throughout the course many countries across the earth sphere formed some kind of alliance with one of the two forces which brought up the point that many that had sided with the Earth alliance were often attack and ravaged by Zaft forces which in turn led to some nations to side with the plants and let Zaft use their land as a staging area for invasions of neighboring countries.

Basically when it came to third party nations it was no secret the Earth Alliance was trying to pressure and drag anyone they were able to into the whereas Zaft would offer an alliances however while they showed less persistence they wouldn't hesitate to attack any nation that chose to stand or had any type of dealings with the Earth Alliance which now brought up if Orb decided to indulge in some type dealing with the Earth Alliance.

While most would disregard the idea as impossible because of Orb's neutrality policy it would explain Zaft's attack on the Colony.

Eric eventually came to the only door that was open and ran through while the door dropped down behind him sealing the way he came through shut.

Unlike the first the teen was much more alarmed. 'That's the second time that happened, it can't be a coincidence.'

"If you want to come out of this situation alive follow the path I have set for you." Someone said over what sounded like an intercom system.

"That voice, Mr Shir..."

"Now is not the time for greetings head on the path I have set for you and I'll meet you at the end of it."

As confused as Eric may have been he was well aware that given the present circumstances following the instruction was the best option available to him.

Heading through the only open way that was in the immediate vicinity Eric found himself running through a series of halls that all had only a single door that wasn't sealed by a steel door.

'Guess that what he meant by set path.' Eric thought as he eventually came with a gunman dressed in a mechanic suit who immediately point their firearm at him.

"Who are you and what are doing here? This is a privately owned facility and we're currently on high alert!"

Before Eric could reply the person using the intercom spoke. "I let him in to have him brought to the prototype's location."

"Sir are you sure?"

"Yes bring him to the location."

"But he's a civilian and..."

"Be quick."

Gunman sighed and lowered his pistol before addressing Eric.

"Come on I don't know why the director wants you brought to the location of a classified project but come on."

"Wait what classified project?" Eric asked whilst his eyes widened.

"Save the questions and get a move on."

XXXXX

Bernard scowled as he made it to the surveillance room and to find it empty.

"Dammit!"

Slamming his fist against one of the monitors cracking it in the process Bernard turned to walk out of the room.

Had that privately hired gunman not latched on to Bernard forcing to use an entire clip before the guy finally dropped dead Shirou wouldn't have gotten away after deciding to prioritize escape pver the chance to take out Benard.

'Ok Director you want play hard ball we can do that. I was hoping to destroy your little secrete machine covertly to avoid drawing attention from the Earth Alliance and Zaft but you're just too intent on forcing my hand.'

XXXXX

"We're here, hurry and see to the director."

Eric walked passed his makeshift escort and entered and large wide room which was almost pitch black until the light turned on illuminating the entire room.

"So you're here." Said an elderly man dressed in a lab coat with grey hair and a black visor covering his eyes.

"Mr Shirou it really was you on the intercom!" Eric exclaimed.

"Yes leading you here from the moment you were chased into our facility by Zaft."

Eric then looked behind Shirou and saw what stunned him into complete silence.

A massive mobile suit laying on a steel bed which was almost completely dark grey save for it's eyes and a circular jewel which were both blue.

It's most striking feature however was it's humanoid head which bore a mouth plate with the holes going across the central part and V shaped fin like crown that split off in three directions at both ends the with a jewel in the middle.

"Wh...what in the world is that thing?!"

"Something that I'd hoped to use to open the eyes of humanity to their foolishness even if only a little. But it's seem thanks to Bernard being sent here I've no choice but pass the torch on to one of the few individuals I feel I can trust."

Shirou said and walked over to Eric placing a hand his shoulder before leading him over in the direction of the mobile suit who took a few moments to ponder what he said before his eyes widened upon realizing what Shirou meant by "pass the torch"

"Mr Shirou you can't possibly be expecting me to pilot that thing!"

"And why not? With all the training you've undergone with our simulator over the course of a year and the machine's OS completed and set to allow even a natural to pilot you shouldn't have any problem."

Eric was unsure of how to reply. It was true that he had year's worth of practice due to a stroke of luck when he got curious about the facility's purpose and ran into Shirou who was at the front lobby talking to an employee under him.

Upon noticing Eric the Employees told him to leave but Shirou intervened wanting to question Eric about his curiosity.

By some off chance the following conversation transitioned into Shirou questioning the teen on what he wanted most to which he replied to obtain a type of strength that would allow him to make a difference in the world.

Maybe it sheer luck or fate smiling on him but soon after against the protest of almost all the employees Shirou showed Eric a mobile suit simulator and offered to let Eric use it. The teen quickly took him up on the offer.

Abram who was Eric's adoptive father agreed to let him go there rather easily after he found which struck the teen as odd considering his father usually didn't approve of ideas that involved anything along the lines of what Eric was doing.

In spite of all this however Eric never imagined something like this would be happening.

Soon the two were standing on the pelvic area of the machine and Shirou pulled out a laptop and began typing away on it.

Around that time the gunman who had escorted Eric came back in shoot wildly into the hall he came in through.

"Zaft gunners have gotten inside!"

"Hold them off as long as you can." Shirou ordered.

'That worm must have reopened the entrance and passageways throughout our facility.'

After a bit of more typing the hatch on the machine's midriff to open.

"Mr Shirou I'm just an average civilian I can't pilot this thing!"

It was by this time the gunman guarding the door was finally shot and killed and soon after two Zaft soldiers came through.

"I've no else I can turn to so I'm going to have to have you carry the sole hope for the future of humanity on your shoulders." Shirou said before shoving Eric into the cockpit of the machine and pressed a button on his laptop causing the hatch to close.

"Forgive me Eric I never bore any desire to drag you into a war that's already taking too much from you. I simply desired to help you move forward from the tragedies of your past."

A gunshot went off and a bullet found it's way into Shirou's back. The elderly researcher stood for a seconds which and slowly tilted backwards until fell off the machine.

As his body decended to the ground he closed his eyes and wore a smile the showed a mixture of content and regret.

'Eric I know I have no right ask this of you of all people but this is now the only I can atone for make my sins to the world...and to you.'

XXXXX

Eric sat in the cockpit in shock.

The last part of what Shirou had informed Eric of linger in his mind.

 _"I simply desired to help you forward from the tragedies of your past."_

"Tragedies of my past? How you did even know about my past when I never spoke about it once with you in the year that I've known you?" Eric asked even though the question wasn't going to be answered.

Soon three screens in front and to the sides of the teen came online displaying the outside.

Eric could only watch in horror as Shirou was shot and fell off the machine.

A beeping sound was heard drawing the teen's attention to a panel mounted at the end of the arm rest just past the end of the lining the arm handle was moved along with a touch screen that displayed a flashing white hand with the words "Awaiting DNA Registration" above it.

His arm felt as if it was moving of it's own volition but before long his palm pressed firmly against the panel and the word "DNA registered, accepted and locked" appeared.

A PC monitor between Eric and the large screen in front of him lit up showing the word's "General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver" in a vertical alignment with each of the first letters making up a rather interesting acronym.

"Gundam. Is that what this things called?" Eric question while sounds of the mobile suit powering up could be heard.

Putting his hands on the arm handles Eric grunted in frustration.

"Why the hell did everything turn out like this?"

XXXXX

Outside the Gundam the two Zaft guards had just taken out the guy who pushed the teen civilian into the hatch of the machine before closing it.

"What is that thing?! We were told there were only five machines!" One of the two soldiers exclaimed.

"I don't know but we better report it."

Their conversation was cut short when the machine stood up its feet and turned towards a massive shudder door before its thrusters engaged and plowed right through the door as if it was nothing but paper.

XXXXX

Sitting inside a basic CGUE armed with a single Vulcan shield on its left arm and a heavy its right hand Bernard had patched himself into Zaft radio channels to listen for any reports involving the secrete mobile type Shirou had been building in secrete.

After hacking into the private facility's mainframe Bernard had opened all the entrances that connected the place to the Morgenroete facility allowing Zaft to invade the place in hopes they would take the machine before returning to his person CGUE outside.

It was a major deviation from the original mission which was to destroy the mobile suit covertly before Orb, Zaft, or the EA found out about its existence but Shirou after getting away had locked down most of the pathways throughout the facility buying the time he needed to get to the machine so Bernard was forced to resort to a secondary plan and just put the machine out in the open for Zaft to find and take.

While this meant the machine would remain functional it would still be prevented from ever being used against Bernard's group which was the reason for his boss wanting it destroyed meaning that even though his secondary plan would not destroy the mobile suit the end goal behind its would be destruction would still ultimately be reached.

Much to his frustration however he soon heard someone speaking frantically about the machine activating before the machine itself busted out of the facilities shutter door revealing itself for the world to see.

In terms of appearance the unknown Gundam had white arms, legs, and head, and a rounded almost dome like chest area that was pale silver in terms of color scheme save for sky blue circle shaped gem in the center the seemed to gleam from the sun light. It also had two wings on each side of the thrusters on its back which started from the back of its shoulders and extended downwards towards the ground. Its head more or less looked like Strike's with the only differences being that the Gundam's V shaped crown split in three directions at both ends and it's eyes and top jewel in the middle of its crown were both the same sky blue color as the chest jewel.

In terms of weapons it appeared to have a shield with gatling gun at its end mounted on its right arm and two twin barrel cannons mounted on its shoulders.

XXXXX

"What the-how was that possible? The only Models we made were Buster, Duel, Blitz, Aegis, and Strike!" A brown haired woman all but screamed from inside the Strike one of five prototypes made by Orb and the EA and the only one not stolen by Zaft as she looked at an unknown model which already had Its' phase shift armor activated.

"Are you sure?" Kira who was actually piloting the strike after taking over in place of the woman with him in the machine asked as he barely managed to parry a sword swing from the GINN he was facing.

"Yeah I only hope it's not another Zaft member piloting that one too."

Kira mentally agreed. The last he needed was another enemy to fight. Things were already bad enough that his childhood friend Athrun was amongst the enemy plus he had no way of knowing if Eric was OK or even alive for that matter Kira could only hope Eric got away from Zaft and found another shelter.

Unfortunately he had no time to think of any that has he had his own opponent to worry about.

XXXXX

Eric had to admit he was surprised he had such an easy time piloting the machine even if it was a lot loke the simulator he trained with. Looking at the PC monitor it now displayed the name XXG33-Hope.

"So this machine known as Gundam Hope."

Suddenly a beeping sound was heard from the radio and Eric turned it to an open channel.

"So that stubborn bastard couldn't go down and just give on his pointless endeavor. Geez did he ever realize he would never achieve anything?"

Eric immediately grew furious at this and turned to a CGUE not far from his own position. "Don't talk about Shirou like everything he's done is pointless."

"What the hell? A kid, really? Wow I knew the guy was stubborn but this is just sad even for him."

"Shirou was a better person than you'll ever know!"

"Is that what you think? Kid I hate to break it to ya but that old coot is not the hero you think he is."

"You're wrong!"

"Believe what you want but you're gonna die here. Nothing personal but I gotta destroy that machine and by extension you."

With that Bernard swung his heavy sword at Eric blocked with the shield before utilizing his machine's strength to shove Bernard back.

Looking at the PC monitor Eric clenched his teeth in frustration. As luck would have it the OS may have been completed but most of the weapons were offline the only exceptions being the twin shoulder cannon and they only had three shots and its knives.

'Are you kidding me? I really don't need these kind of inconveniences right now.'

The set of knives only had so much use and twin cannons were next to useless with such a limit supply and that was assuming Eric didn't fire them and miss his mark.

Bernard then fired off the vulcan gun attached to his shield which Eric was able to block with his shield.

"So you possess a bit of skill with that mobile suit guess that means I can cut loose a bit more." Bernard declared before utilizing his heavy sword which he swung repeatedly to the Gundam.

Eric was block most attack with his shield but a few still hit their marks. Luckily they never penetrated the surface thanks to the phase shift armor according to what the monitor called it upon Eric activating it back before he broke through the shudder door however the hits that weren't blocked seemed to drain away bits of the battery's power.

Leaping backwards Eric earned enough Breathing room to catch a glimpse of another machine which had white limbs and head along with a blue and red body fighting a GINN and to draw a set of twin Schneider knives mounted on the Hope's legs before the CGUE charged at him with its heavy sword attempting an overhead swing.

Eric put both knives together in an x formation and caught the sword between them.

"You got decent defense I'll give you that but believe me I will break through them."

"Proivided I give you the chance!" Eric said before firing a shot off with twin barral guns on his Gundam's shoulders. Thanks to the close proximity the two were in Bernard was unable to avoid the twin red blast that severed off both of his machine's arms.

"You damn brat!"

Eric didn't bother to respond he simply to one of his knives amd stabbed it through the CGUE's cockpit.

The enemy's machine fell to the ground and at the same time the other unusual machine driven off it's opponent

Looking around Eric saw the attack had been averted at least for the time being.

The machine which looked to be another gundum now that there was time to visually inspect it turned to face Eric but didn't do anything more.

If anything merely seemed observe Eric as if seeing what his intentions were.

The teen in question had no desire to fight anymore rhan he had especially considering he had just killed someone for the first time in his life granted the saod person wasn't exactly on his friend list but still...

Deciding that actions were the best way to show he wasn't eager for a fight Eric replaced the Schneider knight backon his mobile suit's legs before observing the other Gundam to see what it would do.

Much to Eric's surprise they started hailing him over the radio. Since his radio was already he didn't need to worry about switching frequentcies.

"This is the Hope I don't want to fight you."

Almost immediately the teen got a reply and it would have been an understatement to say he was shocked by who answered.

"Eric is that you?"

* * *

 **End of chapter two sorry for the cliffhanger but the chapters main pu** **rpose was to introduce the Main oc's Gundam, the Hope, and yes I know the name sounds corny but I couldn't think of any other name considering the part it'll play and far later parts of the story.**

 **Now questions involving things like why was Shirou building the Hope Gundam under everyone noses amd does how know about Eric's past or what that past is or what group Bernards with since if you were paying enough attention is not Zaft or the Earth Alliance.**

 **All these will be answered in the future.**


	3. Heloipolis' end

**Alright here's the final part of the Heliopolis arc for obvious I made a few changes to the fight scene you might like so enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own gundam seed.**

* * *

"Ki-Kira?! Thank goodness you're safe!" Eric exclaimed.

"Yeah I could say the same to you. But what are you doing in that?"

"I kind had a run with a certain acquaintance and from there one thing led to another how about you?"

"Something along those lines."

"I see." Eric then turned to see everyone coming out of the shelter's.

"Eric Ms Ramius said that the machine your in is not one of the prototypes built by the EA and Orb so what exactly is it?"

"I'm honestly not to sure about that myself all I know is that it's called the Hope Gundam. What about yours and who's Ramius?"

"According Ms Ramius it's known as the Strike Gundam and she's someone I met prior to getting in this machine."

"You said before mine wasn't one of the prototypes right? Do you mean there are other machines like the ones you and I have?"

"Yeah there are four others but they were all stolen by Zaft."

"Ok that would pretty much explain why this attack happened but for the time being let's see if we can find the others."

"Yeah I know they made it to the shelters be I'd like to know for sure that they're alright."

With that the two teens set off.

XXXXX

"OK so let me get this straight after Kira went off after some random girl and you try to stop him both of you end up getting chased around by Zaft and end with those things?!" Callahan asked his brother referring to the Hope and Strike which both crouched and powered down the latter devoid of its white, blue, and red color schemes and the former of its white and silver schemes.

Since the time the initial fight had subsided at least in the area of Heliopolis they were in Callahan and the rest of his, Eric, and Kira's friends along with many others had left the shelters.

After finding a more secluded area Callahan and the other teens were found by two machines which much to their relief turned out to be piloted by Kira and Eric.

"Yeah that's the gist of it." Eric said after he and Kira explained what happened with them though the former left out the part where it was the private facility director Shirou who more or less entrusted the Hope to him.

"Still it's rather amazing you guys were able to drive Zaft back." Tolle who sitting atop the Strike's arm along with Miriallia said.

"Yeah but they'll probably come back all things considered."

Kuzzy who was messing around near Strike's cockpit looked worried. "But why?"

"From what we've been told so far at least the Strike was built by the Earth Alliance and Orb along with the four prototypes which were stolen. If Zaft's goal was to steal the machines than it's likely they're still intent on stealing the Strike."

"Wait but what about your machine?" Tolle inquired followed up by Miriallia who spoke next.

"Yeah wouldn't they try stealing yours also?" Kira asked.

"No one can really rule that out but from the sound of things my machine was kept secrete even from the EA and Zaft but the possibility of that happening is there."

"Then maybe you and Kira should just ditch the things." Kuzzy said.

"As nice as the idea sounds that's not going to get Zaft to leave."

"But what we are suppose to do? We can't just stand around and wait for them to come back. The entire reason all of us came to Holiopolis was to avoid this war!"

"I know but so far the only way I can see this being resolved with at least minimal danger would be if Zaft is driven off and forced to retreat but I don't even know if the EA will be capable of that since Zaft has them outgunned in every way save for numbers and that sole exception barely counts for anything."

"Are you awake?" Kira suddenly asked referring to the woman he called Ramius.

"Wh-where am I?" The Brunette asked before looking around and then at Kira.

"Good it looks like you're gonna recover." Kira said before sighing in relief.

The relief however was short lived when the woman regained her bearing and looked at everyone and pulled out and pointed her gun at Tolle, Miriallia, and Kuzzy.

"Get down from there now!"

The three complied quickly since they had no desire to be shot.

Turning to address the others who could only stare in shock she spoke again."Everyone line up over there!"

"What the heck we just saved your life!" Tolle exclaimed only earning a silent glare.

In moments everyone was lined up in front of the woman called Ramius by Kira. "Give me your names from left to right."

"Sai Argyle."

"Callahan Raglan."

"Tolle Koenig."

"M-Miriallia Haw."

"Um Kuzzy Buskirk."

"Kira Yamato."

"Eric Raglan."

"One more question." The woman said.

"Wh-what?" Kira asked.

"Who's the pilot of the other machine?" She inquired tilting her head a bit to show she was referring to the Hope.

Everyone remained silent unsure of weather they should answer or not while Eric mentally sighed.

Whatever god existed in the earth sphere knew he wanted ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the Earth Alliance. It was no secrete at least to his foster family he had a rather low opinion of the EA but still he couldn't risk the well being his friends just to avoid any potential involvement.

"I am." Ramius's eyes narrowed as she turned to him.

"Where and how did you get it?"

"I got chased into the neighboring facility next to Morgenroete by Zaft and by sheer luck I found it there before running into a gunman who questioned me on weather or not I was with Zaft. After I explained to him that I was chased inside the facility a couple of Zaft members showed up and he shoved me in the cockpit of the machine while he attempted to drive them off and was killed in the process I so activated and piloted the thing to save my own life." Eric said. It was a blatent lie but he didn't trust the woman by any means since it was more than likely she was with the EA.

"So you're another Coordinator?"

"No."

"Then how were you able to pilot that machine so efficiently?"

"Upon getting inside I found out whoever made the machine had already modified its programs so even a natural could pilot it."

"You mean that its OS has been modified so a natural can pilot it?"

"I thinks so."

"You don't know for sure?"

"I don't know my knowledge in electronics is limited."

"And yet you were able to pilot that machine?"

"Yes."

"And how could you have done that with no prior knowledge of it's existence and even the slightest inquiry to how it worked?"

"I kind of winged it the same way Kira most likely did."

Another lie for his own behalf but Eric wanted to keep the knowledge on his one year of mobile suit training with the simulator provided by Shirou to himself.

Ramius stared at the teen for a few moments as if trying to judge weather she should have believed him or not before sighing and lowering her weapon.

"Can you please let us go now?" Callahan asked.

"No all of you of are going to have to come with me."

"Why? We're not responsible for the attack of this colony nor are we apart of this war." Callahan asked.

"Be that as it may you all have still witnessed classified military secretes so until its decided what's going to be done about that you're going to have to stay with me for the time being."

A beep sounded and Ramius pulled out a radio.

"This is Natarle Badgiruel here with the Archangel." A voice said.

Ramius' eyes widened. "The Archangel, you safeguarded it?!"

"Yes but not without cost unfortunately. We're on our way to your location what is the status of the Prototypes?"

"Most of them were stolen by the enemy all we still have in our possession is the Strike along with an unknown machine."

"Unknown machine?"

"You'll see when you arrive."

"Alright Natarle out."

Without further reply Ramius switched her radio off and turned to group of teens.

"Stay here until the Archangel arrives."

XXXXX

"Dammit will this worthless Natural just die already!?" Miguel yelled out whilst shooting at a single mobile armor that had been harassing him and the Aegis for the last few minutes.

While normally most mobile armors were next to being nothing more than moving targets even to most rookies on the battlefield the one Miguel and the Aegis were fighting against was actually giving them a run for their money using hit and run tactics while avoiding all retaliatory attacks from its two opponents.

Needless to say Miguel was a little more than pissed. First some random EA Natural managed to swipe Strike from under his nose, then he was forced to retreat, than another unknown mobile suit with white and silver phase shift armor showed up out of nowhere and fought off what turned out to be an unregistered CGUE that ignored all Zaft's attempts at contacting it, on top of that whoever was piloting the Strike managed to turn the tables on Miguel and force him to retreat

Now after regrouping with the Aegis and receiving his latest order he and his ally were headed off toward the location sent to them by the ship they came on when they came to Heloipolis and now a single mobile armor of all things not only came impede them but was actually stalling them from their old and new objectives with solid success.

The old objective was the capture of the Strike and the new one was to capture or destroy the unknown model.

The Aegis fired its beam rifle a few more times before finally managing to land a hit on the Mobile armor's wing forcing it to retreat and probably land while it was still capable of flight.

"Alright with that pest out of the way we can back to our objective. You read the report I turned in right?" Miguel asked Aegis's pilot.

"Yeah my job is engage the other Gundam while you capture strike."

"Good I've been waiting to pay the naturals back for the humiliation they put me through." Miguel said eagerly taking off in the targets last known location.

The Aegis's pilot however was slow to follow and praying that Strike's pilot was not who he suspected it was.

XXXXX

Flying frantically towards a massive white ship which was apart of the same project as the prototypes.

The Pilot switched his radio to an open channel.

"This is lieutenant Mu La Flaga to the archangel do you read?" Mu said soon receiving a reply from Natarle.

"This is the Archangel, we read you. Is there something to report?"

"Yeah we have a major problem."

XXXXX

The tension that was in the air previously had all but dissipated now that Ramius wasn't holding the teens at literal gun point though none of the were still aloud to leave.

So far Sai and Kuzzy were both simply sitting in silence while Tolle was trying to console a still mildly worried Miriallia assuring that everything would workout though from subtle signs in his body language it appeared even he didn't truly believe it.

Callahan was asking Kira what would happen after they went with Ramius but the purple eyed teen couldn't really provide any absolute answers.

Eric just sat in frustration staring at the Hope. While he didn't exactly have the desire jump back in to any fights now that he had time to truly take in the fact that he had killed someone for the first time in his life and felt sick to his stomach with the revelation floating around in his mind and he also was not thrilled about the idea that the Hope would be used for the Earth Alliance's benefit.

There were multiple questions that were still unanswered regarding the entirety of the current predicament everyone was faced with such as why were there Prototypes being built on the colony when it was part of a nation that had a policy to remain neutral or what reason did Shirou have for having the Hope built.

Ramius' heard her radio beep and pulled it out.

"Ramius here. Have you arrived?"

"No lieutenant La Falga has been forced to retreat and return to the Archangel, the enemy's headed for your position!"

"I'll do what I can but you need to hurry, we can't let them have the Strike or the unknown Model."

"Alright Natarle out."

Ramius turned to Kira and Eric. "Yamato, Raglan I'm sorry to ask this of both of you but I need you two to pilot the prototypes again in order to hold off the enemy until the Archangel arrives to assist us. I'll take the others with me to meet up the Archangel in the meantime."

Without bothering with any type of reply Eric headed towards the Hope before noticing Kira still standing in place staring at the Strike with an expression of unease.

"Come on Kira it's going to take both of us to do this."

"I-I don't want to fight. The reason we came here was so we wouldn't have to."

"Neither do I but right now were all in danger and if we don't do something it'll only get worse."

"I know but I don't want to kill anyone there has to be another way."

"Sitting here in denial of our situation and what needs to be done isn't gonna solve anything." Eric said sounded louder and more aggressive than he had meant to before continuing.

"Right now it's either fight or die there's no third option so stop trying to act like the case is otherwise."

"Bu-but..."

"We're not the only one's in danger Kira. The others are here too and if we don't do something about the enemies they could also get hurt."

"Al-alright."

"Good just focus on the end goal of protecting to the others. It might help."

With that Eric walked over to the Hope and grabbed onto to a thick cord that was cennected to cockpit before putting one of his feet into a triangle shaped food hold.

The said cord started retracting pulling Eric into Hope's cockpit.

Glancing at Kira Eric saw the he was also getting in the Strike via the same method.

Entering the inside Eric looked at the touch screen panel and saw a flashing white end again however the set of words above it now said. "Awaiting activation."

Eric pressed his palm against the panel and sounds of the Gumdam powering up could be heard before Eric activated the phaseshift armor causing the Hope to regain its white and pale silver color scheme.

At the same time Strike's phase shift armor also activated. Turning on his radio Eric hailed the Strike until Kira answered.

"How much power does your machine have left?"

"Sixtyseven percent."

"I have about fiftyeight we can't drag this out so if there's only single enemy let's utilizes our number advantage to conserve power and hopefully end the fight quickly."

"Right."

Eric had honestly hoped the advantageous scenario would come to be so he could avoid having another death on his conscious.

Unfortunately fate did not play in his or Kira's favor when not only a GINN but what looked like a red Gundam armed with a shield and beam rifle closed in on there position.

The GINN immediately and rather eagerly lunged at Kira while the Red Gundam zeroed in on the Hope.

XXXXX

Kira muttered the name "Athrun" wondering if the pilot of the red prototype Ramius called the Aegis was who he thought it was.

The mental inquiry was cut short when the GINN made beeline for him and swung down its heavy sword.

Kira ran to the side narrowly avoiding the blow before sending a punch right to the GINN's head causing to stumble backwards.

"You worthless Natural!" The pilot yelled over an open channel on the radio.

Hearing this Kira wasted no time in replying. "Please I don't want to fight you so stop this attack."

"Shut up and hand over the machine." The Pilot shot back before swinging his heavy sword again which hit the Strike across the chest and knocking it backwards into a building.

Kira hastily got the Strike back on it's feet before avoiding an overhead swing that demolished the remainder of the building he was knocked into before jumping backwards to gain some distance whilst drawing the Strike's Schneider knives.

The GINN responded by pulling out a beam rifle from its back with its free hand and began and open fired. Kira quickly found himself being pelted by beam shots which were where down his battery power little by little.

Without any type of shield or cover and a rapidly draining battery Kira utilized the only option he could think of on the spot and simply rushed the Ginn plunging one of the knives into the shoulder joint of the arm holding the rifle disabling and it in the process.

The GINN retaliated by head butting the Strike forcing to Kira to stumble backwards to avoid having the Strike fall on its back leaving the knife in the GINN's joint in the process.

The GINN then charged again thrusting its sword forward. The attack was dodged via Kira sidestepping out of its path.

Unfortunately the sword was plunged right into the support beam of the colony.

"Dammit I'm not gonna get beat by a Natural!" The pilot yelled before yanking his sword out and swinging at Kira who blocked with the Strike's forearm.

The GINN began applying as much pressure as it was able to muster pushing the phase shift armor to its limit.

An alarm went off inside Strike's cockpit alerting Kira to this fact. Wanting to get out of the bind right then and there Kira threw a punch at the GINN forcing at backwards.

"Why you...!" The pilot of the GINN yelled but before the could finish there sentence two red beams hit them side and sent them into the Colony's support beam before their GINN exploded.

XXXXX

There was very little time to react as the red mobile suit dashed right at Eric practically making a beeline for the Hope firing multiple shots from its Beam rifle.

Eric was able to block a good portion with his shield but one managed to hit the Hope in the chest.

To say Eric was lucky would be a major understatement. Unlike the the Vulcan gun the CGUE had the red Gundam's rifle pushed the Phase shift to the brink. It was safe to assume that if they hit the same spot twice or thrice if he was lucky or hit a weak point on the Hope the shots from the other Gundam would break through the Phase shift armor.

Eric grunted in frustration. His option for countering his opponents current assault were limited. While he had the twin cannons they only had two shots left and Eric knew he couldn't afford to even miss one.

The Schneider knives could do some damage to his enemy but if they were smart they'd simply use any opening to do as much damage as they could in the time that it took Eric to close the distance between the two. While it might have been a short window of opportunity it was one they could use to ensure they'd come out on top if they hit the right spots and the lack of defense combined with the enemy's initial skill with the beam rifle put the odds of that scenario playing out at well over fifty.

The shield was the one thing that could at least defend against the enemy's shots but without the Gatling gun mounted to its end working use of the shield provided no way to return fire.

'One option is too much of a risk, one provides me with no defense and the next one with no way to retaliate.' Eric thought as he blocked another shot.

'If that's the case then lets see what combination of two of the options does.'

Drawing a single Schneider knife in the Gundams left hand Eric dashed at the red who was still closing in on him.

As the two come closer and the other Gundam shot repeatedly at Eric he blocked shots with his shield whist continuing his advance.

As he came within attacking the red Gundam raised its own shield over its central body likely to keep Eric from using the Knife he had to stab his opponent through the cockpit. The move likely would have ruined Eric's plan if not for the fact the cockpit was never Eric's target to begin with.

Pivoting his knife to the left Eric bypassed the shield and plunged it straight into the beam rifle his opponent had.

Leaping backwards the red Gundam tossed the weapon aside just before it exploded and produced a yellow Beam saber from its forarm.

Eric in turn pulled the other Schneider knife and readied himself for the next assault.

Before long the red Gundam had closed the distance between itself and Eric and repeatedly swung its beam saber which Eric blocked with the shield or dodged.

While Eric's overall defense was holding he was being forced back little by little until Eric tried to trusting the knight into was enemy's chest only for the red Gundam to jump back before bringing up its Beam saber in an attempt to sever the Hope's arm.

Eric managed to retract the arm in time saving it but not without cost in the form of the Schneider knife's blade being cut in half leaving him with no weapon aside from the shoulder cannons.

To make matters worse the red Gundam was about to go for an overhead swing that would most definitely have been fatal if it were allowed to hit its mark.

Acting with haste Eric fired the beam cannons only for the red Gundam to somehow stop its own attack and somehow dodge his via jumping to the side in time.

As fate would have it however the beams managed to find another less intended target as it slammed into the GINN Kira was fighting and pushed it into the support beam before the machine exploded taking out the support beam it the process.

Upon realizing what had happened Eric could only stare in shock at the burning remains of the support beam until the metal tearing and loud cashing sound be heard in the distance.

Eric looked around and was greeted with a sight that horrified him. Massive tears in the colony's wall as many of its plates would tear off and either get sucked into the vacuum of space and or fell in the city building or streets crushing and killing many fleeing citizens who were trying to find any shelter or sanctuary from the destruction.

It was also around that time Ramius' voice sound.

"Yamato, Raglan the Colony's tearing itself apart, hurry and come to the Archangel we'll stay and take in civilians as long as we can but we can only stay for so long!"

"Come on." Kira called out over the radio.

"Ri-right."

As Eric was received the coordinates on the PC screen he wasted no time in heading in the direction of Archangel but not without glancing behind him to see if the red Gundam was giving chase.

To his relief his enemy of a few moments ago had taken off in a different direction most likely back to the ship its pilot came to colony on.

Another wave a relief came and when the two teens came upon a massive white ship with two side sections the surpassed the ships main body in terms of length and bent downward at the front ends.

Eric and Kira soon saw the docking area wide open and wasted no time in entering.

Once they were inside the hanger bay Eric finally let emotions he had been holding back and slammed his fist into the controls.

"Aaaaarrrrrrrggggg why did this have to happen, why did all those people have to die?!" He screamed out on the verge of tears.

* * *

 **Alright that's the end of this chapter hope you liked the Kira and Eric vs Miguel and Athrun fight scene.**

 **I also figured i could use it to show off a few differences between Kira and the main OC.**

 **While they both don't want to fight and kill Eric is more willing to dirty his hands to save his friends than Kira is but at this point the act of taking life is still hard to swallow down because beyond the simulator Eric is still an everyday civilian not accustomed to the life of a solider yet.**

 **That being said I'm not gonna make him so self pitying and emotional that he cries over every little battle he fights like Kira does, though Eric while he won't be another Kira he will have his moments from time to time like now because of what happened on Heliopolis.**

 **A large quantity of people dying as a result of the colony's destruction isn't something that can be brushed off especially when Eric himself though unintentionally was actually a contributing factor to the said destruction with that shot that hit Miguel into the already damaged support beam making the collateral deaths of the civilians who didn't make it to the Archangel partially his fault.**


	4. Meeting with the EA

**Ok Here's chapter four. And to answer some questions that have been bought to my attention to anyone who wants to know what the hope gundam looks like with it's phase shift armor on the description that was given just before the fight between Eric and Bernard happened when the Gundam exited the facility and went outside was it. And as for the seed factor yes he'll have one because he kind of needs it like every character in seed.**

 **disclaimer I don't own Gundam seed**

* * *

"It seems Zala's desire for revenge truly know no bounds." Said the current chairmen of the place before sighing.

Siegal Clyne sat at his desk reading a report of what had happened at Heliopolis. While most military affairs were left in the hands of his former friend Patrick Zala the current chairman still preferred to keep track of how the war was going.

He wasn't particularly pleased with the direction the war had taken. He had hoped to bring it to a swift and peaceful end via peace talks but the Earth Alliance was seemingly dead set on fighting to whatever bitter end the war led them too.

"This war is meaningless."

"Sir your daughter is here to visit you." A voice said over the intercom system.

"Send her in."

"Right away sir."

In another minute or two the doors to the chairman's office opened revealing a teen pinkhaired beauty who was the chairman's daughter and the famous pop idol Lacus Clyne along with a pink sphere shaped machine bouncing around her repeatedly saying Haro."

"Lacus is there something you need?"

"No rather a special request."

"A request?"

"Yes I would like to pay my respects to the departed souls at Junius seven."

Siegel merely raised an eyebrow. He had no doubt his daughter's heart was in the right place I when it came to the morality of the request but he had no desire to expose her the sight of a place that was litter with death even after all the time that had passed.

"Lacus you've no need to prove anything to anyone. You have all ready showed your sincerity through your career."

"I know but I wanted to contribute to those that are fighting to protect are home as well as those who have been lost in this terrible war even if only a little."

Seigel sighed. "Very well but please be safe."

"Of course father." Lacus Clyne said before leaving the room.

"She's inherited her mother's kind heart." Siegel said to no one in particular.

XXXXX

"Raglan we need to speak with both you and Kira. Open the hatch to the machine." Ramius said over the radio.

After fighting back the tears that threatened to spill because of the destruction of Heliopolis that he unintentionally contributed to he opened the hatch to the Hope and was greeted by the sight of Kira who had already exited his machine, Ramius who was now wearing an EA uniform confirming Eric's previous suspicion. Along with the two were a pair of other EA members.

One appeared to be a blond man which at first glance seemed laid back and the other a black haired woman who wore a stern expression almost glaring at Eric who had the feeling she was someone he wouldn't be to fond of.

"So this is the unknown machine you were talking about. Looking at it I'd have definitely thought it to be one of the prototypes we were building in collaboration with Orb." The blond haired man said before turning his full attention to Eric.

"I'm lieutenant Mu La Flaga yo."

"Eric Raglan."

The black haired woman narrowed her eyes."Where did you get that machine? Who made it?" she demanded more so then asked.

"I came across by accident when being chased by Zaft into the facility where it was kept."

"And what facility would this be?" The black haired woman asked.

"The privately owned facility."

The woman raised an eyebrow. The one next to where the original prototypes were being built? That sounds too convenient for someone like you."

"He's telling the truth I saw the machine come out of the building's garage." Ramius said.

"Sorry to ask this but we need to confirm something. Ramius told us according to you that machine's OS system has been configured to allow even a natural to pilot it is that correct?" Mu inquired.

Eric grew nervous. He didn't like the potential direction the conversation was going in especially since it was being held with members of the Earth alliance. But unfortunately he couldn't lie to them since it would likely get him thrown in a brig and the truth would likely be discovered regardless.

"Yeah."

"If that's the case we'll be taking possession of that machine it shouldn't be left in the hands of a civilian and a minor no less" The black haired woman said.

'And leaving it in the hands of the EA is better?' He thought silently.

"Natarle please." Ramius said before turning back to Eric.

"Raglan I know this is kind of out of the blue for you but we're going to need to inspect and get whatever data we can from that machine."

"Fine." Eric said reluctantly before exiting the cockpit and walking next to Kira.

"One more thing." The black haired woman said before focusing her icy gaze on both teens.

"Are either of you two Coordinators?"

"No/um yes."

Eric and Kira answered at the same time before the guards pointed their guns at both teens.

"What the hell! We answered your question why are you treating as if were enemies?!" Eric asked.

"One of you is a member of the enemy and the you are still under suspicion of being one yourself."

"What could I have done to make you think that?"

"You piloted the unknown machine with enough efficiency to fight off the enemy only a coordinator could have done that."

"But I already told you the Hope has already had its programing modified so a natural could pilot it."

"And how do we know that isn't a lie to keep us from executing you?"

"Are you kidding me why would I- no even if I was a coordinator how does that alone justify killing me?"

"Your kind are the enemy of the Earth Alliance." Natarle said angering the teen.

"Only because you EA scumbags won't leave them alone!" Eric yelled out before the guards all turned the safety on the weapons off.

"That's enough all of you stand down!" Ramius said.

"Lieutenant it wouldn't be wise to harbor these two." Natarle said.

"While it's true Yamato is a coordinator and Raglan may very be one but the fact remains these two are the ones who held off Zaft forces and also are citizens of Orb which accepts both Naturals and Coordinators alike."

Upon hearing this the guards reluctantly lowered their weapons.

"Well it looks like we found out who's best suited for the position of leading this shop." Mu annouced.

"What? But you're the highest ranking officer here." Ramius said in response.

"Yeah but if your performance here with defusing the tension here wasn't enough of a hint I think you'll be able to fill the position just fine. Besides I'm more suited for a pilot's position anyhow."

"In that case it'd be best for you to pilot one of the machines." Natarle said.

"Maybe but the kids might be more suited to the task than I am."

"What, how?!"

"Well the Strike from the sound of Murrue has told us when she came aboard with those other kids has a OS system too complicated for any Natural and the Hope as Raglan called it might be the same way if your suspicion is correct and even of it's not well the kid displayed enough skill to prove he can pilot it effectively."

"We need whatever fire power we can get."

"Which is why these kids should be the ones to pilot them while I use the Mobius zero. We'll have three effective units for the time being."

XXXXX

"So in the end our mission on Heliopolis is incomplete with the loss of the Strike, Miguel is dead, and now another model not even our informant knew about has appeared and there was an unknown pilot who had managed to hide themselves amongst our number. Is that everything you have to report?" A masked man with blond hair be the name of Rau La Cruset said.

"Yes sir." Said the pilot of the Aegis Athrun Zala.

"If that's the case we have only one course of action. We'll pursue and the legged ship and capture both machines. Go inform the others that the Vesalius is going to pursue the Archangel."

Athrun left without a word leaving Rau La Cruset alone.

"I wonder who the pilot of this new machine is. According to the report the infiltrator amongst our number seemed determined to destroy it. Perhaps I might be able to get to some answers from the pilot themselves."

XXXXX

"Man it really sucks that there's nothing we can do to help out." Callahan said referring to Kira's current task of bringing life boats that were launched from the colony before it was destroyed back the archangel.

Since the time Eric and Kira had come to the Archangel Ramius had ordered the Strike to be fitted with weaponry and for the Hope to have its own weapons brought online. During the downtime the crew and civilians alike had all been assigned to rooms.

A little while after the Archangel went into orbit with what few crew members it had a multitude of life pops had been detected.

Since the Archangel didn't have that much manpower it was decided to least have Kira help out. Eric was held back on the account of the possibility of him being a coordinator and by extension from lying about it an enemy as Natarle had put it.

The result was a few three man teams as well as the Strike now retrieving the said life pods and bringing them back to the ship.

"It can't be helped. We're just civilians plus they don't have any more flight suits to give out so there's not much we can do." Eric replied.

"We might be able to soon though." Tolle said.

"The Captain's is taking help from any volunteers."

"You're planning on putting your name up for consideration?"

"Yeah it'll be a good way to kill time and someone's gotta see to the safety of all the poeple of onboard."

'Somehow I get the feeling it's more for protecting Mirriallia. Still it's a good reason to volonteer all things considered.'

"That you and I can both agree on." Callahan said jerking Eric's attention to him.

"Callahan please don't tell me you're also planning to work with those bastards!"

Callahan turned to Eric and glared.

"Why shouldn't I? What's wrong with joining up with the EA, they're trying to help people aren't they?"

"Only because the people on the life pods are likely Naturals!"

"What's wrong with that? We're both Naturals!"

"Had the people been coordinators the crew would have been taking a completely different course of action!"

"Not every EA member is as evil as you make them out to be!"

"And what about Junius seven huh? And every other war crime they've commited?! Nothing good will come of getting involved with their group!"

"Only you think that. And if you don't believe me go ask anyone who's around. Even Kira."

'Of course you'd try and use Kira as the catalyst for your arguement.' Eric said rolling his eyes irritation.

Even though Eric was technically Callahan's brother even if it was via adoption into the Raglan family Callahan had a closer sibling like bond with Kira. In fact whenever he had a personal problem or trouble Kira would usually be the first to hear about it.

Eric had more or less accepted the fact but in spite of it Eric still had some responsibility to see to Callahan's safety.

It was by this time Miriallia decided to intervene. "Calm down you guys. Let's just figure out how to make the best of this."

"Yeah it won't do anyone any good if you two fight." Tolle said.

"Fine." Eric said before hearing someone say something about the Strike arriving with the last life pod.

'Mine as well go greet Kira.'

XXXXX

As everyone entered the hanger bay Eric saw the Strike standing motionlessly next to the Hope which had mechanics working on different parts of it.

And now that he got a chance to truly look at it he saw that the Hope's shield had actually taken more damage than he would have originally thought.

There were a good number of burn marks and gashes in it. In fact one gash was actually deep enough that the body of Gatling gun it was mounted over was now exposed.

Eric had to admit the damage didn't exactly help any type of matter especially given the situation him and the others were in. Still as far as he was concerned it would've been easier to prevent said damaged from occurring if he had possessed a better arsenal than the one he had during the fight on the Heliopolis though it was highly likely the situation couldn't be helped.

On a side note there were also two beam rifles suspended in the air by cables in between the two Gundoms. Eric aready knew one of them was for the Strike so it was pretty much safe to assume the other one was gonna be given to the Hope.

'It'll definetely benifet the Hope's arsenal.' Eric thought even if he dreaded the idea of it being used by the EA.

"Kira!" Callahan exclaimed running over to the bruenette.

"It's good to see you to."

"So I take it that's the last life pod?" Eric asked looking at the only life pod that hadn't already been opened.

"Yeah of all the ones we were able to find at least." Kira said with a hint of guilt.

Eric had a sneaking suspicion that he was worried about any life pods that may still be floating out in space.

"Let's just be happy about the life pods that were saved."

"Ri-right." Kira said before Callahan rapped a single arm around Kira's shoulder.

"He's right you should be proud of yourself. You helped a lot of people and even protected all of us."

'Yeah you definitely saved a lot of lives Kira so you auto take pride in that, besides any pods left behind on more on my head than yours.' Eric thought as one of the Crew member yelled put that they the life pod to open.

"Come Kira it might be nice to see who you saved." Callahan said leading Kira over to the life pod.

As soon as the door opened around eight or nine people came out all of them being strangers with the exception of one girl that Eric while he didn't wish death on her he had no desire to see her.

"Kira!" A feminine voice yelled out before a red haired girl practically leaped out of the pod and into Kira's arms embracing him in the process.

"I'm glad you're ok." Kira said returning the embrace.

Sai who seemed to completely fail to take note of the potentially mold affection between the two spoke next.

"Flay! I'm relieved to see you made off the colony."

Flay turned to Sai before pushing away from Kira and throwing herself into the other teen's arms and started sobbing.

"My friends they didn't make it."

"You mean...?"

"Those scumbag coordinators took them from me."

Kira wore a look of mild hurt which didn't go unnoticed by either of the two step brothers.

The older of the mentally sighed. He knew Kira had a crush on the redhead but in the end a relationship between them was unlikely to ever happen since Flay was already arranged to be married the Sai and to top things off she had an obvious hatred of Coordinators.

Having enough of the scene Eric simply decided to head for his assigned quarters.

XXXXX

On the bridge Ramius, Natarle, and Mu were discussing what to do with the Strike and Hope.

"We will take Strike to Alaska as planned though I'm at a lost as to what to do with the Hope." Ramius.

"I strongly advise on taking it to the Alaska HG along with the Strike." Natarle Said.

"I can see how doing that might help our cause but the other model wasn't really built by us like the other prototypes. In fact have no idea who built it." Mu chimed.

"Orb is the only one that could have been responsible for its construction."

"Maybe but that still kind of leaves the question of why they would build another prototype right under our noses."

"The reason doesn't matter as things stand it should be used by the EA against Zaft."

"We'll decide what to do with it when we meet Uzumi to give him Strike's data." Ramius said before the head mechanic Murdoch came running in the room panting and sweating with a look that would make one think he saw a ghost.

"This is a private meeting Mechanic you need to..." Natarle said before being cut off by Murdoch.

"There's no time where's that other mschine's pilot we need him right now!"

Ramius' eyes went wide upon hearing this.

"Are we under attack by Zaft?"

"No that other machine has a timed self detonation device on it! If the pilot doesn't deactivate it in the next few minutes the machines gonna self destruct right inside the hanger bay."

XXXXX

Eric was in his assigned room placing his lab top on the table before pulling out a case containing a special disk he had found in one of the compartments of Hopes' cockpit back after his initial fight with the CGUE back on Heliopolis.

After deciding that it was best kept secrete from the EA he kept it concealed within his hoodie.

"Let's see what thing has on it." Eric said inserting the disk into the side of the laptop before being interrupted by a voice on the intercom.

"Eric Raglan head to the hanger bay immediately!"

Eric put his laptop in a drawer and headed for the hanger bay.

"What could have happened that they need me down there so urgently?" He asked no one in particular as he exited his room and immediately was confronted by a guard.

"Come with me now. We need you at the hanger bay asap."

XXXXX

The alarm was going off in the hanger bay sending everyone into a full on panic.

Many of the civilians jumped to the conclusion that Zaft was attacking and ran to their rooms as fast as they could.

It was by this time the doors leading into the hanger bay open revealing Eric along with the guard who had escorted him. As soon as Murdoch who had been standing along side Ramius, Natarle, and Mu saw the teen he wasted no time in yelling out the instruction of what he wanted done.

"Deactivate the self detonation device now!"

"Self detonation what are you talking about?"

"That machine you brought in turned out to be set with a timed explosive."

"What? How am I suppose to stop it."

"Your the one who armed it aren't you!?" Another mechanic yelled out.

"No I..."

"Enough!" Ramius yelled out before turning her attention to Eric.

"According to Murdoch the deactivation switch is already displayed on a touch panel with the amount of time left until detonation. The problem lies in the fact that the switch can only be used by someone who's had there DNA registered in other words you."

"Alright." Eric said before running over to a latter and climbing up to the second level catwalk before dashing over to the Hope which already had the hatch open and leaping inside.

From a single glance it became clear Murdoch was telling the truth about the touch panel. It displayed a timer that showed five minutes and fifty three second and counting down along with the words "Registered DNA needed to deactivate" below it."

Underneath both the timer and words was a flashing white hand showing Eric where to press his palm. The teen wasted no time in pressing his palm against the panel. Moments after the timer stopped and the numbers turned green before blinking a few times and disappearing. The previous words were now replaced with now ones that said "self detonation reset and deactivated."

"Alright I took care of the would be explosion problem." Eric yelled out while exiting the cockpit.

"That's good in all but why did you arm that thing in the first place!?" Murdoch asked.

"Actually I didn't."

"And why exactly would we believe that?" Natarle asked.

"Because it's the truth I told you before I only stumbled across the machine by chance."

"And it just happened to already have your DNA registered."

"No not prematurely."

"Then how is it that the other prototype has you registered now and why it's set to self detonate should anyone else try to use it?"

"At the time I stumbled across it the Hope's touch panel said "awaiting DNA registration" and showed the flashing shilloute of a hand so I pressed my palm against it and the next thing the panel said was DNA registered, accepted, and...Locked." The realization hit like a ton of bricks. The Hope's DNA registration along with the self detonation feature, Shirou had set it so the first person that activated the Hope Gundam was the only who could use it. In this case Eric himself.

"Ok. By any chance would you know how to undo the lock on the Hope's systems?" Ramius asked.

"Unfortunately no." Eric answered reluctantly knowing where the conversation would most likely go.

"You aware that sounds a bit too convenient for you aren't you?" Natarle asked.

"I am." Eric admitted.

While it was actually the truth the idea of him stumbling upon a new model mobile suit that just so happened to have its system set up in a way that it would set the locks and failsafes on its own so only Eric could use it without him having any knowledge of the said locks at the time or how to undo them sounded like a convenient lie so he wouldn't have to give the machine to the EA or get interrogated for information.

"If that's the case we're going to have to go with La Flaga's suggestion and have you pilot it in the meantime." Ramius said causing Natarle to jerk her gaze towards the unofficial captain.

"Ms Ramius I would have to disagree with that course of action. He needs to be interrogated until he divulges how to undo the DNA lock and since we're unable to check the OS there's also the possibility he may be a Coordinator."

"He's obviously a civilian so interrogating for information he most likely doesn't have would just sully the Earth alliance's humanitarian name."

Eric scoffed at the last part before Ramius continued.

"As for if he's a Natural or Coordinator we can't imprison or execute him if he's the latter of the two since the fact remains he's a civilian and a citizen of Orb no less. We can perform a blood test to put the matter to rest but beyond that anything else would be abuse of authority on our part."

"I make preparation the test immediately." Natarle said before leaving.

Ramius turned to Murdoch. "Will the DNA lock get in the way of general maintance on the Hope?"

"No we've been able to bring the weapons online and load them. So far the detonation program only triggered when we had one of our workers try and start up the machine to check the OS according to him the machine gave him a warning saying his DNA wasn't registered and after he tried again in hopes of simply being able to bypass the lock was when the detonation started."

"So basically all we can really do with the prototype as of now is load its weapons." La Flaga said.

"And give it new ones to an extent." Murdoch said gesturing to the Beam rifle it the Hopes' hand.

"What do you by extent?" Ramius asked.

"It's built differently from the Strike so we can't put any packs on it." Murdoch answered.

"Ok since the matter of the other Machine has more or less been settled what's our next move?" La Flaga said

"We'll head for the Artemis base to resupply."

"Well if that's all I'm heading back to my room." Eric said leaving the hanger bay.

XXXXX

As Eric came back to his room he found the door wide opened and two voices emanating from the room.

One sounded like his younger step brother and the other...

"Haro you're back you're back." Came the mechanical voice of a trade mark blue sphere like pet robot called a Harobot which hopped into Eric's hands.

"It's good to see you too Haro but if your here does that mean..."

"It does." Another voice said.

Eric looked up to see a man dressed in casual civilian clothes with brown hair.

"You've no idea how glad I am to know the worst didn't befall you."

"Father!" Eric exclaimed before letting the Harobot hop out of his hands and practically leaping into the man and wrapping his arms around him.

"I was worried I lost you!"

"I could say the same to you especailly if what Callahan told was true."

Eric released his embrace and stared at his adoptive parent Abram unsure of how to respond at first.

"Yo-you mean he told you about what happened with me?"

"Well only that you were piloting one of the machines this ship's holding."

"Then are you..?"

"I can't say I approve but as I said before I'm just glad the worst didn't happen to either of you and at the very least I want to hear your side of the story and your reason for doing what you did."

* * *

 **Ok that's the end this chapter. Sorry that wasn't any fights I pretty much just used used the chapter as an opportunity to show off some more of Eric's particular character as well as the others view towards him.**

 **Eric at this point in the fic actually has a bit of a reversed black and white view on things. Where most people on the ship think Coordinators and Zaft are the villains Eric believes the Earth Alliance to be the villains. Namely because of the Junius seven incident which pretty much started the conflict and the fact that the overwhelming majority of the EA is fighting out of their desire to kill off coordinates and other reasons which will be shown later. Also he's currently unaware of Patrick Zala's goal of wiping out Naturals so as far as he's concerned the war is only going on because the EA won't leave the coordinators alone.(even tough that kind of actually is the reason the entire first war happened at all. Zala was just trying to retaliate against the EA though like them he took his goal to far.)**

 **To clarify Eric just hates the Earth Alliance not the entire Natural race.**

 **I also changed the scenario of events for the chapter. Originally I was going to have everyone in charge of the ship in favor of the idea of simply taking the Hope from Eric who would have protested only to get locked up in the brig until everyone found out about the DNA lock and timed self detonation which would have forced them to let Eric pilot the Hope.**

 **I changed my mind because I realized Ramius wouldn't simply jump at the opportunity to steal a mobile suit from someone who had more or less helped fight off Zaft simply because it was the optimal thing to do and La Flaga would probably turn down the opportunity to pilot it even if he was able to in favor of having an extra ally on the field. Plus I don't want Eric to be the type of character who wants to make an ass out of himself every chance he gets because I personally find that annoying in any character.**

 **He'll still show some distrust if the fact he left out the part Shirou had created the Hope or that he lied about having no previous experince with a mobile (choosing to keep his simulator experience a secrete) or his argument with Callahan along with concealing the disk he found wasn't enough of a hint but I'm not gonna have him act as defiant as possible at every turn for the sake of it. At most Eric simply wants keep as much information out of the EA's hands as he can and to avoid any involvement with the Earth Alliance though thanks to the DNA lock on Hope combined with Zaft's in pursuit of the archangel which has his friends and family on board I'm sure we can all guess how accomplishing the latter of the goals will work out.**


	5. Racial tension

**Alright here the fifth ch enjoy next chapter after is probably gonna take more time because I need to plan things ahead for better scenes instead of putting them together on the stop and other storys need to be updated.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GS**

* * *

"Fa-father I'm not really sure where to even where to begin."

"Just start from when you initially found the machine."

"Well to keep it somewhat brief basically after the attack on the colony started me, Callahan and the others started looking for shelters but the first two we found only could fit a few people in them namely all of our friends with the exception of Kira or me."

"Or?"

"Yes or, there was room for one more person in the second shelter we found but before we could even begin to choose who was going to get it Kira took off chasing after some girl and I in turn gave chase to stop him."

Abram nodded gesturing for Eric to continue.

"Soon after that we kind of ran into Zaft personnel who forced us to separate and I actually got chased into another facility."

"I'm guessing that's where you found the machine?"

"Well yeah but not before getting locked inside to prevent Zaft from getting in and running into a guard who led me to the Hope on orders."

"The Hope?"

"That's the specific name of the Gundam I pilot and Gundam is basically the general name of what my and the five machines are called." Eric answered before continuing.

"Anyway as luck would have it the orders came from Shirou of all people."

"That man who decided to let you use the simulator."

"Yeah it turned out he made it and told me it was something he hoped to open the eyes of humanity with before deciding to more or less give the Gundam to me."

Much to Eric's surprise Abram only wore a silent look that almost seemed like one of understanding.

"What happened to Shirou?"

"He...he was shot and..." Eric couldn't bring himself finish the sentence as he mentally relived the moment where he watches the researcher he greatly respected get shot and die from inside the Hope.

"I see."

"Well after that I was forced to pilot the Hope which was just like the simulator Shirou let me use as far as most of the controls went and had to fight a CGUE."

"Go on go on." The Harobot said hopping up and down lifting Eric's spirits a bit.

"After that me and Kira who was piloting the strike found Callahan and our friends and met ms Ramius who took us all at gun point and had us give her our names before Zaft forces came back to take the Strike and maybe the Hope. Me and Kira ended fight them off again."

Abram stared at Eric for a few silent moments before replying.

"Something more happened during the fight didn't it?"

Eric opened and closed his mouth a few times silently for finding the right words for his answer.

"Towards the end of the fight another one of the prototype Gundams had me on the ropes and had me more or less backed into a corner..."

Eric's body started trembling.

"I shot the cannons on the Hope's shoulders in desperation. It forced the enemy I was facing to dodge the attack however when they did I hit the other enemy mobile suit into the Colony's main support beam and after it exploded the supported beam was destroyed and Heliopolis started tearing itself apart."

"Eric..."

"The destruction of our home, all the people who died in the crossfire it's my fault."

"No it's not!" Exclaimed Callahan who had came out of the room he and Eric were sharing during his conversation with Abram.

"All you were trying to do was protect us and defend our homes."

"But."

"Enough." Said Abram before turning his attention back to Eric.

"Eric I know you're not happy that the colony is gone and many lives were lost but Zeft, the EA, and Orb are the ones responsible not you."

"You did nothing wrong Haro." The Harobot said hopping into Eric's hands almost as if to comfort him. Soon after he felt his foster father's arms wrapped around him.

"Eric I know these recent events haven't been easy on you in particular with Shirou's death and the colony's collapse but it's OK for you to move forward."

XXXXX

Kira and the others were sitting in the Cafeteria anxiously trying to calm their nerves after the recent incident causing everyone to go into a full blown panic where everyone thought the ship was under attack by Zaft.

Confusion only increased when Eric alone was called to hanger bay and not Kira. It didn't help when the Crew informed everyone that the problem had been solved.

What followed was many of the civilians asked what the problem was to which the crew told them they were simply having technical difficulties.

Many civilians had their suspicions but none of them really spoke up. Most just muttered comment about Coordinators coming after them which didn't help with Kira's state of mind since he more or less found out the girl he liked seemed to also hate his kind.

"I wonder. Do you think the problem has something to do with Eric's machine?" Tolle asked.

"What do you mean?" Miriallia asked.

"Well they only called Eric to the Hanger and were not under attack by Zaft so maybe that other machine was source of the problem."

"Maybe but there'd be no way for us to know. It's not like the crew is gonna tell us anything."

"I don't think I want to know what the problem was. I'm just glad it's over with and that we're not actually under attack." Kuzzy said.

"I see your point still I'm a bit curious about the machine considering from the way the lady Ramius made it she doesn't even know much about it."

"I that I think about it you're right. I remember me Ramius asking Eric who made it."

"Speaking of curiosities I hear some of the crew think Eric's a Coordinator." Sai said.

"That's not possible. Last we all checked he's Callahan's older brother isn't he? And Callahan's bad grades make it obvious where his genes lie." Mirillia pointed out.

"Yeah but Eric is actually an orphan who was adopted by Callahan's dad from what I've heard from Callahan and for all the time we've been with him we don't know much of anything about Eric." Kuzzy said.

"So there's chance he's one of those monsters?!" Flay suddenly exclaimed.

"Why does it matter? Coordinator or Natural Eric's still our friend just as much as Kira is." Tolle said.

"Kira's not a Coordinator and if there's a chance Eric is then wouldn't it be better for him be locked up or thrown off the ship I mean before he tries anything?"

"Flay stop!" Sai all but yelled out causing everyone to turn to him.

"Kira is a Coordinator and he's not the enemy and even if Eric is he's not with Zaft either."

Flay turned to Kira who looked like he was close to being on the brink of tears.

"Kira I'm sorry I know you're not bad but the rest of the Coordinators..." Flay said but stopped as Kira stood up.

"I'm gonna head back to my room."

XXXXX

Walking through the halls of the ship Eric simply stared ahead silently as he was escorted to the medical bay by two guards.

After being Consoled by Abram, Callahan, and strangely enough his family's blue pet robot Haro the two guards showed up informing Eric the blood test had been readied.

Callahan had actually expressed outrage though probably more out of shock then rage considering he had more or less put his trust in the skeletal crew not to discriminate against Coordinators and the fact that they were having Eric take a blood test for only one possible reason proved that his trust was more or less mistaken, at least to enough an extent that the EA really couldn't be trusted when it came to Coordinators.

Eric could not help but inwardly smirk as wrong as it may have been but it was nice seeing his point about the Earth Alliance proven to Callahan even if only partially considering they weren't intent on imprisoning him and Kira or worst killing them.

"Move along." One of the guards said almost hiding the underlying animosity in his voice.

Still Eric paid it no heed. He didn't expect much from the EA in terms of hospitality since most of them had convinced themselves he was a Coordinator spy. On top of that the guard in question was amongst the group that were initially pointed their guns at him and Kira.

In fact looking back the said guard appeared to hold the biggest amount of hatred for the two teens when they were initially questioned about their genes.

If he had a large sum of money he would have confidently bet all of it that in a scenario where he actually was a Coordinator the EA guard would jump at the chance to kill him.

Before long they were at the medical bay where a civilian most likely with major qualifications in the medical field considering they appeared to be holding a syringe was waiting.

"So this is the person we're giving the blood test to?" The civilian asked before being answered by the guard that held animosity.

"Yeah we need to confirm he's with the enemy so we can..." The guard that was cut off.

"He's with Orb. Regardless of what he's genetics are we're not gonna do anything to him." Everyone turned to see Mu La Flaga.

"But he might be one of those Coordinators we can't risk having one of them on the ship!" Exclaimed the guard.

"It doesn't matter Ramius decided we're not gonna do anything even if he is and if I'm being completely honest I'd have to agree with her."

"You can't be serious!"

"And why not? Simply being a Coordinator doesn't give us the right to shoot him."

The guard kept silent slightly trembling with what was most likely hate as the civilian pushed a needle into Eric's arm and began pulling the plunger back extracting blood from Eric's arm in the process.

"This test should only take a minute." The civilian said before removing the needle from Eric's arm and pouring the blood into a beaker before putting it into to machine linked to a monitor.

"Ok the results show this boy's a legit Natural."

"Well now that the test is done we can put this behind us now." Mu said

The other guard who kept silent the entire time merely exited the room while the more belligerent guard became enraged.

"How can that be? This kid managed to pilot a machine only a Coordinator could use!"

"The OS was configured so Naturals could pilot it."

"But the mechanics can't get a look at the systems because of a lock that kid put on it to keep us from seeing it. If you ask me I bet he just locked up the system to make sure we don't find out the OS is one Coordinators use.

"No I didn't the lock set on its' own after I used the Hope for the time." Eric retorted.

"That's nothing but a lie you monster."

"You can call me a monster as much as you want but the test showed my genes are the same as yours."

"I refuse to believe that, you had to have tampered with the test before it started, it would be simple for a Coordinator to do."

"I never had the chance to try." Eric said getting up and leaving the room.

Enraged growling was heard coming from the room before Mu's voice was heard yelling.

"Hey stop!"

Foot steps were heard rapidly coming out of the medical room just long enough for Eric to glance behind him to see the enraged guard standing just outside the entrance of the medical room pointing a pistol at him.

"Die Coordinator!"

Eric threw himself to the ground as gunshots were heard. Eric narrowly managed to avoid being hit by any bullets.

"You damn Coordinators think you're so high and mighty well let's see act you all cocky now!" The guard yelled before shooting again missing Eric's arm by inches.

"All you monsters deserve to die!"

Before another gunshot went off from behind the guard who fell forward revealing Mu with a firearm of his own along with a shocked Natarle and Murrue.

"What happened?" Natarle Demanded.

"The blood test proved I was a Natural but your guard refused to believe it."

"You mean to say he attacked believing you were a Coordinator even after the test showed otherwise?"

"Yeah."

Natarle was about to reply likely stating disbelief she held in Eric' explanation before being cut off by Mu La Flaga.

"I can vouch for him."

"He mean he's telling the truth?!" Natarle exclaimed.

"As unlikely as his explanation sounds yeah he is." La Flaga said before looking the injured guard who was reaching for the gun he dropped upon being shot before removing it from the said guard's reach.

"What is wrong with all of you...we should kill him and that other Coordinator, they're enemies of the Earth, of all of humanity." The hostile guard declared.

"No they're just different in terms of genes but in the end they're still human being with hopes and dreams like you or me." Eric said getting up.

"Go to hell you coordinator scum! The reason the Earth Alliance exist is to correct the mistake of your kind's birth into this world!" The guard yelled out.

"Mu I want this guard's wound treated and then lock him in the ship's brig."

"Consider it done." With that Mu got the belligerent guard to his feet and began leading back to the room where the test was administered.

Murrue then turned to Eric.

"Raglan I'm sorry this happened normally members of the EA are supposed to act more professional than that."

"I don't hold it against you personally and if I'm being completely honest even though I expected some animosity from the crew in general I didn't think it would escalate this far." Eric said before getting up to leave and head back to his assigned room.

'I knew there were there a ton of people in the EA that joined for the opportunity to kill Coordinators but that guard managed to sink to a low even I wouldn't have thought possible.'

XXXXX

"So you kids decided you wanted to volunteer eh?" Mu asked as Tolle, Miriallia, Sai, Kuzzy, and Callahan stood in front of him on the Archangel's bridge.

"Yeah we decided we want to help out Kira and Eric any way we can." Tolle said.

"Well we can definitely use the extra helping hand so by all means welcome aboard." Mu said before turning to Murrue.

"So are we still going to Artemis?"

"You sound as if you don't like the idea."

"It's not that I don't like it it's more that I'm not sure we can trust those stationed at the base even if they're part of the Earth Alliance. I'm pretty sure you've heard how the Atlantic federation and Eruasia aren't exactly on the best terms."

"They never have been but in the end we need supplies and the enemy is more than likely targeting the ship for the Strike and probably the Hope now and it's unlikely we'd make the trip if we went to the directly to the lunar base on the moon especially of we were attacked."

"In the case I'll go get Kira to put a lock on the Strike's OS though I'm not sure what to due with the Hope, the best we can pray for os that the Artimes personel don't do anything to set it off."

"Wait about the Hope. What do you mean set it off?" Callahan asked.

"Since you're all volunteering to help out I guess there's no harm in telling you."

"Telling us what?" Kuzzy asked nervously.

"That other Machine Raglan brought in turned to have a timed self detonation on it."

"What?!" all the teen volunteers exclaimed.

"Relax we took care of it. As long as no one aside from Eric tries starting up the Hope the self detonation won't be set off."

Everyone with the exception of Kuzzy who still looked moderately nervous breathed a sigh of relief before Tolle spoke up.

"I'm guessing that was the reason for the alarm going before?"

"Pretty much which reminds me we'd kind of prefer it if you didn't tell anyone else who's not an official member of the Crew."

"Alright."

"Ok since our next course of action is clear and explanations about Hope are out of the way I'll show you kids where he need extra helping hands."

* * *

 **And that's another chapter down. Originally this was going to be the chapter where the people from Artemis were introduced but the scenes leading up to it became lengthy to male their own chapter.**

 **Beyond that it looks like Eric opinion of the EA is gonna go down that much more. Anyway look forward to the next chapter.**


	6. Crossed lines

**It looks like I've got a fair amount of followers and favorites comong in so I guess I got off to an adiquate start but regardless from this point on I'm gonna start putting more effort into the length and quality of the chapters since the first few i kinda of just slapped together in a rush and I feel it won't do any good for the story if I keep going in that direction. The good news from this is better chapters overall the bad news is longer waitng time in between. Can't be helped so be patiant**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own gundam seed.**

* * *

On board a Nasca class ship's bridge many individuals were at their assigned stations scanning frequencies, radars and the like hoping to pick up any traces of the EA new ship the Archangel.

One individual in particular with combed back blond hair and cold calculating blue eyes wearing a gray military uniform sat in the captain's seat pondering what the crew's next move was before one of the members spoke up."Sir we have Barclay on the line."

"Put it on the main monitor."

The main monitor displayed the face of a man who had their face obscured by a pale silver mask though unlike Rau La Cruset's mask which only concealed his eyes Barclay's mask covered his entire forehead and had to side sections that extended downward covering his cheeks leaving only his mouth and the back of his head which had short and slight fringed light blue tinted silver hair visible.

"I assume you're contacting us to ask about the status of our mission on Heliopolis?"

"That I am Rooks."

"We sent Barnard along with a small squad but from what we could salvage from communication records we suspect he was K. by the target."

"And who is the Pilot might I ask?"

"They never said their name during the confrontation but judging by their voice I'd say they were young in terms of age probably just barely over the enlistment age."

"You mean to imply Bernard was bested by a minor?"

"As unlikely as the scenario may sound it's the only conclusion we are able to draw."

"Did the squad you sent with Bernard have anything to report on the matter?"

"Unfortunately we lost contact with them when the fighting throughout the facility where the target was kept broke out. We suspect they were wiped out before the target was initially found."

"So in the end Shirou managed to ensure that his weapon would enter the war. Have you any idea to its current location?"

"All we know is that it was taken aboard the Earth Alliance's new ship the Archangel. Were searching for the ship now."

"Tell me did they leave on their own terms or did the destruction that you're team reported force them to leave?"

"The colony's end forced them to retreat."

"The report also said the Alliance lost four of their Prototypes and that they've taken vast quantity of civilians on board. If that's the case it's likely they'll try to head nearest base to resupply or at least safeguard their only prototype along with the target."

"In that scenario they'd likely head for Artemis."

"It'd be a wise move for the latter of the goals considering the defense Artemis is known for."

"Makes sense I suppose."

"Indeed but that's not the only matter at hand."

"Has Shirou prepared a secondary impediment?"

"No it has to do with the chairman of the Plant's daughter."

"That naive pop singer?"

"Yes as fate would have it the Plant's makeshift princess is heading for the ruins of Junius seven for the memorial the citizens of the Plants intend conduct."

"Is there some way this threatens our end goals?"

"Not particularly. But it could be turned to our advantage."

Ricks raised an eyebrow "Might I inquire how?"

"Our informers within the Plants have informed us Zala intends to run for the chairmen position."

"I see."

"With the hatred he bears for Naturals Zala would make an excellent candidate for escalating the war."

"Then am I to assume the death of Segiel's daughter is a means to assure he losses his position?"

"Precisely. During this time of war the Plant's can't afford to have someone overtaken by personal grief leading them."

"Hmm it makes it rather ironic they'd let someone like Zala who's consumed by the desire for revenge run for the position."

Barclay couldn't help but chuckle briefly. "True but the people of the L

Plants are desperate for the quickest end to the war. Needless to say Zala has them believing he can achieve that."

"It'll be rather entertaining to see Zala reveal just how deep his true colors run if and when he becomes chairman."

"I'm sure it would, in the meantime I want you to observe Zaft's pursuit of the Archangel only engage if you need to and send out a small squadron to ensure miss Clyne meets her end."

"Understood." Rooks said before the monitor turned off.

Under normal circumstances he would have wanted to pursue the Archangel and more specifically the target that Bernard and his squad was sent to destroy but thanks to the deceased CGUE pilot's clash with the target out in the open for everyone on the colony to see odds were at the very least Zaft members were questioning why someone outside of their militia was present at the colony during the attack and how they knew about the target prototype.

The particular organization Rooks was fighting under was independent of any major powers and relied on the secrecy of their existence in order to keep any potential enemy threats to a minimal which meant letting Zaft potentially destroy the target mobile suit would be optimal, still even the scenario of capture by Zaft would significantly lesson the odds of the prototype being used against the organization since Zaft was not only unaware of their existence but also currently had their hands full with the EA who'd merely use the prototype in their campaign to eradicate the Coordinators. In conclusion the only real possible threat with the mobile suit at the moment would be the machine's pilot.

"I wonder who Shirou entrusted his weapon to."

XXXXX

Walking into the Archangel's hanger Abram stared at the the Hope Gundam in a slight amount of angst.

While the machine was what saved the lives of both of his sons during Zaft's attack Abram couldn't bring himself to approve of the Hope's existence. Especially considering who its creater and pilot were.

And also because of the potential pain the pilot in question may very well be in for if he decided to continue using the machine.

"Shirou did you really simply decide to make Eric make this Mobile suits pilot as a last resort or did you intend to have him pilot the machine from the start?"

XXXXX

"Ms Ramius we'll be approaching the Artemis base within fifteen minutes."

"Send out a request to dock at their port."

Mu La Flaga turned to Kira who was standing uneasily. "Did you put the lock on the Strike's OS?"

"Um yeah."

"Good the less things we have to worry about the better."

Kira stood in silent confusion as to what Mu meant and if he was being completely honest he was actually left wondering why Mu requested for him to put a lock on the Strike's OS system at all. Last he checked the Eriasien federation was also apart of the Earth Alliance which should make them allies.

Still regardless Kira put the lock on the Strike's OS and was hoping for the best. In this particular case the best case scenario would be one where the crew found a safe haven from the enemy and him and the rest of the Orb refugees would be able to head to another Orb colony or the mainland of Orb itself.

"We've received permission from Artimes to dock however they say they will open fire on us if we attempt to leave the ship." One of the crew members said.

"What? But we're not with the enemy!" Ramius exclaimed.

"We don't have any IFF code to confirm who we are so it makes sense for them to be cautious but I gotta admit they're being even more hostile than I thought they would." Mu said.

XXXXX

"So the EA's new ship is went to Artemis huh? Figures, all those damn Naturals can do is turn tell and hide when things don't go their way." Yzak Joule spat.

"Yeah but what else would you expect? We pretty much mobbed the floor with them back on Heliopolis." Dearka said.

"Yeah but we lost Miguel in the process. And on top of the Alliance still has the Strike and Omega Five." Athrun said.

Omega Five was name given to the unknown Prototype that had fought Athrun and taken out Miguel since no one in Zaft had any knowledge to what the Omega Five was actually called.

"So what? The pilots are only Naturals they can't possibly match Zaft reds like us." Yzak said.

"Yeah we'll take em down the next time we see them." Dearka replied.

Athrun couldn't exactly bring himself to share Yazak or Dearka's overconfidence. Namely because he knew there was a chance the pilot of the Strike was actually a Coordinator and on top of the his childhood friend Kira not to mention who ever who the pilot of the Omega Five had showed enough skill to take down a CGUE which was even better than the GINN Miguel had and even held their own against Athrun himself.

Though he held the advantage over the Omega Five throughout the entire clash Athrun's opponent had held up a rather solid defense and also managed to counter Athrun's assault forcing him to back off.

Not to mention they managed to take out Miguel. Athrun blamed himself for what happened feeling that due to his own desperation to take out the machine as quickly as possible derived from the suspicion of the identity of the Strike's pilot he more or less threw himself at the machine blindly without thinking things through.

Because of this Athrun silently promised that he'd not only get Kira to come with him to Zaft make the pilot of the Omega Five pay for killing Miguel. "I doubt it'd be that easy plus there's one more problem we have to worry about."

"What?" Yzak asked Athrun in annoyance.

"The Artemis base is covered by a defensive barrier like shield called the Umbrella we won't be able to get through."

"Are you kidding me?! We really gotta deal with the impenetrable defense now!? Talk about a buzkill." Dearka chimed.

It was at that point Nichol finally decided to make himself known.

"Um actually I think I might have a way to slip through."

"And what exactly would that be?" Yzak inquired.

"My machine, the Blitz has a stealth mode called the mirage collide system which allows it to become invisible and undetectable."

"Tch sounds like a weapon that's fitting for a coward."

"Regardless it's our only way of getting through and completing our mission of capturing the two machines." Rue La Cruset who had been silent until now said.

XXXXX

"And it looks like my suspicions were right on the money." Mu said to himself as the Archangel which was now locked into place was being boarded by armed men.

"What the heck's going on aren't we all supposed to be on the same side?!" Exclaimed crew members.

Ramius turned to the officer in charge.

"Well you're able to see that we're with the Earth alliance so why..?" Ramius was cut off.

"We're locking the ship's controls down. There's no IFF code so your ship's not registered and because of that there's no way of confirming if you're friendlies so you can't complain if we feel the need to take precautions."

Natarle looked shocked at the revelation. "It should already be obvious we're al..." Natarle was cut off by a gun being pointed at her.

"I'd advise you to stay silent."

XXXXX

"Wh-why is this happening?! I thought we were supposed to be safe here!" Kuzzy exclaimed fearfully.

"Just keep your mouths shut and you won't get hurt." One of the Eurasian gunmen said while he and around ten other Artemis guards gathered the Archangel's crew members and civilians and held them all at gun point.

Kira and Eric sat next to Murdoch and Tolle quietly the latter of the first two said two teens glaring at the Eurasians.

This was something he was not in any type of mood to deal with. Heck after everything everyone aside from the official Crew been through on Heliopolis this was the last thing they needed.

It was starting to seem like with practically every action the EA took caused them to fall to even lower standards.

"Why can't we just go home to Orb?" Kira asked quietly.

"The only guess I have is rotten luck." Eric replied not wanting to say what his real beliefs on the matter were. Needless to say he would have pinned on the EA's corruption.

"Damn this is so stupid, it should be obvious we're on the same side seriously if we were enemies we wouldn't be any where near this base." Tolle said.

"It might be something else." Murdoch said.

"Wh-what you mean?" Kira.

"While it's true they'd need to confirm our identities to make sure we're not with Zaft that should be relatively easy since Mu La Flaga is with us."

"Is he really that famous?" Eric asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah during one battles throughout this war he actually managed to shoot down five GINN's earning himself the nickname Hawk of Endymion."

"I see." Eric said moderately impressed, even though five was a small number not even in the double digits and GINNs were the most basic unit as far as mobile suits went that Zaft had in their arsenal most mobile Armor pilots could barely last against one even with a good amount of help from fellow pilots. So shooting down even one was impressive for any member of the EA let alone five.

"What are you saying?" Tolle asked.

"These guys are only acting suspicious to put up a farce, something else is up." Murdoch answered.

XXXXX

"We've been telling you over and over we're with the Atlantic Federation." Ramius said.

"I know we've looked through the EA's database and found files on all of you." Replied the base's Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia.

"So then you should have no doubt of who we are anymore." Mu said causing Garcia to turn to him.

"Of course not Hawk of Endymion. Still I gotta say I'm surprised you of all people were aboard that ship."

"If you have our identities sorted then you should let us resupply and leave for the good of everyone at this base. We're being pursued by Zaft so if we stay here to long this base will come under attack." Ramius told the Rear Admiral who laughed in response.

"Your fears are much more unfounded than you think."

Mu's eyes narrowed."You mean we're safe?"

"I'll just show you." Garcia pressed a button that made the main monitor in his office display an image of the Vesalius floating just outside of a barrier like shield surrounding the Artemis base.

"That ship's been there for a little while now."

"You make it sound likes it's nothing to worry about." Mu said.

"This isn't the first time a Zaft vessel showed up on a door step. Like all the others it'll only be able to sit around for a bit before realizing any efforts it makes to attack us is pointless."

"So we're really safe."

"As a newborn in its mother's arms." Garcia said almost dismissively though Mu was not assured in the least.

Suddenly the door to the office flew open and an officer who looked like they were on the verge of being shot ran in.

"Sir one of the two mobile suits is set to self detonate in the next eleven minutes!"

Garcia's face lost its previous smug look and his eyes widened with shock.

"Have one of our men take these three to one of the unused rooms then we're gonna force the crew to reveal who the pilot is!" Garcia said storming out of the room.

"Should of figured that kid's machine would cause things to spiral out of control granted they were already heading in the wrong direction with Rear Admiral Garcia having ulterior motives for keeping us here and all but still, well mine as well try and turn things around." Mu said off handedly before turning to Murrue and Natarle who been on silent shock over Garcia's actions.

It seemed she was such an avid by the book believer the idea of another ally committing any act of betrayal was foreign to her so to say Garcia's actions were beyond shocking.

"So are we gonna let em lock us or head back to the Archangel?"

"Let's go with the latter." Ramius said before the three left.

XXXXX

"OK who are the pilots of the mobile suits!" Garcia yelled as he entered the mess hall where everyone on the Archangel was held.

When no reply came Garcia grew all the more agitated. "You guy realize that if the mobile suit self detonates it'll do enough damage to the ship to kill everyone in board in other words you."

At this Eric felt his stomach turn to ice. While what Garcia said made it obvious that he was trying to steal the Strike and Hope which was something Eric would happily prevent were it in his power he couldn't allow his adoptive family, friends and all the refugees to die for his disdain of the EA.

Since circumstances surrounding the safety of others demanded it Eric stood up and gained Garcia's attention.

"If the Hope's about to self detonate then I'm the only here who can reset it."

Garcia's eyes narrowed. "Kid I don't have time for this I want the actual pilot or you and the others are all gonna die."

"I'm telling the truth. I can stop the self detonation sequence on the Hope and prevent everyone from dying."

"We're all gonna die!?" One of the civilians asked.

"Why I do have be here? The reason I went to Orb was to get away from this stupid war."

"Mommy are we really gonna die!?"

"I don't want anything to do with this, I just want to go back to Orb."

"Why's the EA doing this? We're not Coordinators."

The questions would have most likely escalated to full blown panic if not for one of the Artemis officers hadn't shot off their gun on Garcia's order who glared at Eric.

"So you're really the pilot is there anyone here who can vouch for you?"

It was then that Flay stood up. "He is telling the truth, the reason he can pilot the machine is because he's a Coordinator."

"Flay!" Exclaimed Mirriallia.

"Is that right?" Garcia asked.

"It is!" A new voice exclaimed.

Everyone turned to the entrance of the mess hall to are see the deranged guard who had tried to kill Eric before.

"That kid is a Coordinator masquerading as a Natural and the other pilot is also a Coordinator."

Garcia smiled smugly. "You think you can point him out or would it be faster to oust him out of hiding?"

"I'd go with the option two. Firing off a few bullets into a civilian or two might do the trick but you might need a make a high body count before the other Coordinator gets the message."

Eric found himself getting increasingly infuriated. It was bad enough that Garcia was trying to seize the mobile suits but now the deranged guard was making things go from bad to worst by giving Artemis' rear Admiral ideas that Eric would not put past him to utilize.

It also didn't help matters when Garcia wore a malicious grin. "Sounds like a nice strategy for getting efficient results."

"Don't I'll do whatever you want" The voice of Kira shouted out before he stood up.

"So he's the other Coordinator I take it?" Garcia asked turning to Flay.

"He is." She answered.

Eric glared at the redhead, it was one thing to point the Artemis personnel in his own direction considering the current circumstances especially with the Hope's timed detonation but to have Kira dragged into it was another, even if the brunette was giving himself up much like Eric himself it was obvious that Flay's vouching for him(or even Eric himself for that matter) was just little more than a means save her own skin.

"She telling the truth?" Garcia asked to deranged guard.

"Yeah that boy's definitely the other space monster."

"Ok well first thing's first you come with me and deactivate the self detonation on your machine before this ship is blown to bits." Garica demanded referring to Eric who along with Kira were being taken out of the mess.

"Wait!" Another voice said that made Eric's stomach feel as if it turned to ice.

Garcia turned to see Abram of all people standing up and glaring at the rear admiral.

"You are not taking my son! Abram declared walking towards Eric before a gunshot rang out.

Eric stood in horror as his adoptive father fell to the ground.

"Dad!" Callahan screamed before running to where Abram laid bleeding on the ground while Garcia lowered his pistol.

"Now if there are no more protest then come on." Garcia said leading a silently shocked Eric out of the room.

XXXXX

Outside the Artemis base the umbrella shield had been powered down since the Zaft ship had exited the range of the base's radars leading those watching over Artremis' perimeter to believe the enemy had left.

Contrary to popular belief however a single mobile suit was headed for the base and more specifically one of the umbrella's generators.

XXXXX

"The detonator's reset." Eric said from inside the Hope's opened cockpit in an almost monotone voice.

Since the time his adoptive father was shot Eric was struggling not to emotionally explode with rage for what Garcia did to Abram.

Whatever force behind the cosmic was in place knew if Eric ever got the chance he was going to make the Rear Admiral suffer. Much to his personal frustration however Eric had to put his desire for personal retribution aside for the sake of the others still on the Archangel.

"Good now how about taking the lock off of the machine?" Garcia asked.

"There's no way you or any other officer could pilot it so taking off the lock is pointless."

"If that's the case then why put the lock on the OS at all."

"To deter you and your men from tampering with the machine in hopes you wouldn't set off the self detonation."

That was a lie but Eric had no intention of telling them the truth about the Hope Gundam. As such he decided to play along with Garcia's current belief that he was a Coordinator and also to bide his time.

"Well I might just have a proposition for you that it'll solve our predicament."

"I doubt I'll be interested. Especially after you shot my dad."

"That guy who tried to get in the way? I have a hard time believing he's your dad even if he referred to you as hsi son considering you don't look anything like him. But don't worry with some treatment he may still live."

"Treatment I doubt I can count on you to provide."

"And what exactly have I done to lose your trust?" Garcia asked idiotically.

"You're attempting to steel the mobile suits which I'm pretty sure is a betrayal to the Earth Alliance. And on top of that you let out a deranged sociopath in the making out of the brig."

"Maybe but the way I see it one person's trash is another treasure. And as for betraying the EA. Well I might be making an enemy of the Atlantic federation but these mobile suits will shift the balance of power in the Eurasian federation's favor so in the end the Atlantic federation will be powerless to do anything in retaliation. Plus with two race traitors at our disposal."

"But we didn't do anything to betray anyone!" Exclaimed Kira who was in the opened cockpit of the Strike directly across from Eric and the Hope on the other side of the catwalk path that sat between the two machines.

"Kid in case you haven't noticed if you and your fellow space monster are the pilots of these and you must have used them on the EA's behalf considering the ship was chased here by Zaft and that's pretty damn close to if not the most blatant from of betrayal to your race in existence."

"But we were never with the Plants and Eric's ..." Kira stopped when Eric conveyed a look telling him to do so.

The brunette was confused at first but then remembered how Eric seemed to be indirectly admitting to being a Coordinator even though he claimed otherwise when he and Kira were first brought onboard the Archangel.

"What about your friend?" Garcia asked.

"Nothing." Kira answered unsure as to why Eric was claiming to be a Coordinator now and also worried since Eric had seemed to shut down at first glance but then Kira realized he was holding back a lot of anger.

"Then get back to work and think about the idea of becoming pilots for the Eurasian Federation." Garcia demanded

"Why would you want us to join your group and what makes you think we'd be interested?" Eric asked.

"You're the pilots of these machines and on top of that Coordinators. That makes you both quite valuable. And as for why you'd join you've already betrayed your own people so your enemies of Zaft and I'd imagine you both are high priority targets or soon will be considering your positions so you'll be in desperate need of allies."

Eric was about to retort when suddenly a distant explosion was heard followed by the inner body of the base rumbling.

"What the what was that?!" Garcia exclaimed before a voice emanated from the radio at his hip.

"Sir we're under attack."

"Then raise the Umbrella."

"That's the problem we can't."

Garcia felt his stomach turn as cold as permafrost.

"The enemy has somehow managed to destroy a portion shield's generators...also the unknown ship's crew in retaking the ship and are about to escape from our dock."

As Garcia was distracted with the report he was given Eric hailed Kira over the radio to ensure he could speak to him without Garcia or the few officers who were supposed to be watching them intently but were now distracted by the report along with the Rear admiral.

"Kira if we want to turn this around we better do it now." Eric all but whispered. Though Kira was the farthest from him.

"Right."

Without a moment's hesitation Eric and Kira both closed the hatches to their cockpits which drew Garcia's attention.

"Dammit you're not getting away!"

Suddenly the door opened revealing the deranged Guard who ran through with a pistol in hand and open fired on the Hope in a futile effort to destroy it.

"All Coordinators deserve to die. Your kind are nothing but monsters in human skin!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Will you calm down? I need these Coordinators alive!" Garcia exclaimed only for the deranged guard's wrath to turn to him when the guard shot Garcia in the shoulder then shot one of the Artemis officers in the head.

The remaining officer pulled out his own gun in a panic and shot the deranged guard in the side of his abdomen.

While this was happening Garcia managed to slip away getting off the catwalk and to the first floor of the hanger intending to escape from the Archangel before it left the dock. Meanwhile back on the catwalk the deranged guard ignored his injury and shot the remaining Artemis officer in throat.

"If you won't kill these unnatural vermin off then I will!" The deranged guard yelled out before a another gunshot went off and the back of his head exploded into a red mist before falling to the ground revealing Mu La Flaga standing in the doorway.

"I hope you guys are ready to launch because we got Zaft just outside this base's doorstep."

"Alright I'll get Hope to the catapult right away."

"I'll do the same with the Strike." Kira said.

"Good I'll be joining you in the Mobius Zero." Mu said before heading to the first level of the hanger where the Mobius Zero was kept.

XXXXX

Running through the halls Garcia soon stumbled across a black mobile suit that was firing off its weaponry at any Artemis personnel and Mobile Armors it could.

'Dammit who did things go so wrong? I was so close to tipping the balance of power in Eurasia's favor, I'd have probably been promoted to an Admiral.' Garcia thought as he watched the Zaft mobile suit continue to raid the hanger before a voice spoke over the radio.

"Rear Admiral we have three other unknown mobile suits along with a DINN destroying the base's exterior guns."

Garcia growled in frustration. 'At this rate I'm gonna have to get back to the homeland of Eurasia and report this disaster.'

"Screw it those two mobile suits may have slipped out of our grasped for now but there will be other chances to increase the Eurasian Federation's power." With that Garcia made his way to the location of Artemis' life boats.

XXXXX

"So you're gonna be my operator as of now?" Eric asked Mirriallia who's face was displayed on the Hope's monitor.

"Yeah I was originally going to be Kira's but Callahan wouldn't quit haggling me to switch with him."

"Figures, he's always been attached to Kira. Still if helping out Kira can get his mind off of worrying about our dad I'm all for it."

"I've noticed and about your dad. He's in a coma but he's alive and in stable condition. Callahan was pretty relieved by the news."

Eric smiled at this. "I can see why though I can't say I'm happy with the whole coma thing but I'm glad the worst case scenario hasn't come to pass. On that note its good to know you and the others are OK."

"Me and the rest of our friends could say the same to you and Kira. We were really worried about you when that jerk took you two away."

"It's a little ironic by we might have Zaft to thank for that. Their attack gave us the distraction we to turn the tables on that bastard Garcia."

"Makes sense I guess. Anyway are you ready to launch?"

"I'm loaded on to the catapult."

"Alright I'm opening the hatch and Eric."

"Yeah?"

"I'm counting on both you and Kira to protect us."

"Don't worry I definitely won't let Zaft shoot down the Archangel as long as you, Callahan, and dad and our other friends are on it."

"I'll be holding you to that, anyway get ready to launch." With the Mirriallia cut the connection.

"Eric Raglan, Hope launching." As soon as Eric finshed that short sentence the catapult flung the Hope forward at incredible speeds that caused the sudden increase in G-force to take Eric by surprise but he quickly fought it off and focused on the upcoming fight.

Meanwhile in the other leg of the archangel Kira stood on the catapult with the Strike which was currently equipped with the Ail pack arming it with a shield, Beam rifle for mid ranged combat, and beam saber for close quarters.

"Kira Yamato, Strike Launching." With that the Strike was launched into the fray.

Back in the hanger the mobile armor meant for space combat was sitting on a catapult next to one used to launch the Strike.

"Mu La Flaga, Mobius Zero launching." With that all three units were off to engage Zaft forces.

However as the Mobius Zero left the Archangel and taken to the vastness of space Mu suddenly felt an aching pain in the back of his head. "Argg don't tell me he's here! This is the last thing we need."

XXXXX

Under most circumstances Rue La Cruset was simply content to let who he considered his pawns to do the work however two things had caught his personal interest enough that he'd decided it was worth making a personal appearance on the battle field.

The first was a report of a mobile armor pilot skilled enough to actually give two Zaft reds a difficult time even if only all but briefly.

The second was the report of an unknown mobile suit appearing on Heliopolis. The mobile suit Rue and the other personnel aboard the Vesalius decided to call the Omega Five.

After hearing about its debut at Heliopolis Rue was initially curious curious about it and thought the pilot may have been Mu La Flaga before reading the report about the mobile armor.

Even so Rue still desired to see the enigmatic mobile suit for himself.

Flying out toward the Archangel Rue watch intently as the Omega five activated its phase shift armor taking in its appearance once its color scheme had finished changing.

It's head looked generally like the Strike's in terms of shape but with two key differences. One being the color of its eyes and jewel above its crown were sky blue and its said crown branched off in three separate directions and both. Its arms and legs were white and average in size not slim but not bulky either. Its shoulders were rectangular and edged outward and almost all white with pale silver edges which was a feature the machine's feet shared. Its chest area was round in front and extended outward giving it a slight domelike shape which a circular jewel in the middle that shard the same skyblue color as the machines eyes and crown jewel on its head and appeared to give off a radiant glow. Two white long think wings with pale silver edges came out of the back of the machine's shoulders extending downward at slight angles to their respective sides(left one is point a little diagonally to the left and vise versa with the right) almost reaching below its knee joints.

It terms of armaments the Omega five appeared to a small sized shield much like a CGUE's mounted to its right fore arm with a Gatling gun mounted at its end while its left hand held a beam rifle. On top of both shoulders appeared to be two twin cannons.

Rue was temped to face the Omega Five himself but two factors stopped him. First was the fact that the Blitz which finished blasting the Artemis base to hell from the inside now seemed to be giving chase to the machine whilst the Dual was making a beeline for head on and second was a pain in his head indicating Mu La Flaga was taking to the battle field.

XXXXX

Eric had to admit he was much more satisfied with the Hope Gundam's arsenal than he was back on Heliopolis.

The Gatling gun was now online and loaded, the knife set he lost in the last fight had been replaced. The twin cannons of the Hope's shoulders were full in terms of ammo and a beam saber was available in the case of close quarters combat. And in the Hope's left hand was a beam rifle that was originally suppose to as one of the spares for the Strike in case its own was destroy or lost during combat.

Flying out Eric was soon met by the Duel which fired off a grenade from a launcher mounted to the bottom of its' beam rifle.

Eric responded by using his Gatling gun to shoot and destroy the projectile before it reached him.

Eric had to admit while he was confused at the time of why Shirou had set up a mobile suit simulator he was now grateful for it. While a simulator didn't measure up to actual fight but it did give him some sense of experience enough that he wasn't simply freezing up with fear being unsure of what to do.

Plus thanks to the incident on Heliopolis he had two real fights under his belt but the fact remained Eric couldn't get careless especially since his life wasn't the only one at stake.

XXXXX

Kira was all but a wreck on the inside before the Artemis forces tried seizing the ship and Gundams he was looking forward to eventually returning to Orb and forgetting about the war. But that hope was shattered when the Artemis forces decided to take everyone at gunpoint and try to seize the Gumdam's.

Now Zaft had shown up and destroyed the base from the inside. While this may have meant the Archangel could escape it also meant the Archangel would have to face Zaft again and to make matters worse there was a likely chance Kira's child hood friend Athrun was there.

Making a cautious beeline for the Aegis that in turn set a course for him Kira prayed it wasn't piloted by Athrun.

Opening up with a hail of beam fire Kira hoped to deter his opponent unfortunately the pilot of the Aegis easily dodged and weaved through each shot with little effort.

It didn't help matters when they quickly closed the distanced between them and Kira before producing an Amber colored beam saber and forcing Kira to his shield the block it and pull back buying himself enough time time to

switch from his beam rifle to a beam violet colored beam saber before locking blades with the Aegis and being hailed over the radio.

An eriee coldness had immediately taken root in pits of his stomach as he decided to switch to an open frequency.

The face that appeared on the monitor confirmed his worst fears.

"Kira? So it really is you but why are you flying in that machine?" The pilot of the Aegis Athrun Zala asked.

"Athrun why are-I thought you said you hated war so what are you doing here?" Kira asked as he broke the dead lock he had going before following up with the vertical swing of his beam saber which Athrun parried.

"I'm not here because I want to fight for sake of it. My mother was killed during the tragedy at Junius seven."

Athrun produced another beam saber in the Aegis' other hand and began a barrage of swings which Kira as forced to parry with his own beam saber or block with the Strike's shield.

"Kira you need to come with me. The EA's only using you."

Kira pulled back to get distance and switched back to his beam rifle.

"No I'm fighting because my friends are on that ship."

Kira began spraying the Aegis which easily weaved through any beams sent at it and closed the distanced making an overhead swing which Kira was forced to block with his shield. The resulting impact pushed Kira back who in turn used the full power of the Strike's thruster to pull back and gain a large amount of distance and hopefully stay out of range of the Aegis' beam sabers.

"Kira they're just pretending to be your friends to get you to fight for them." Athrun said before putting away both beam sabers and switching to his own beam rifle.

"No there are people on the ship I have to protect!"

Soon the situation had turned into a moderate chase with the Strike continuously pulling while firing desperately at the Aegis whilst Athrun returned fire as he gave chase.

Much to Kira's dismay he soon found out that Athrun's aim was significantly better than his. While the former was just spraying beam shots all over place the Aegis aim was much more precise and the strike was forced to block more than a few shots with its shield.

Kira soon found himself panicking as he glanced at the battery meter which only show two percent power.

'When did my power get so low?!'

Things only got worse when the Strike's phase shift armor turned off and the Aegis changed to a four legged mobile armor.

XXXXX

Eric found himself increasingly frustrated. It seemed only Kira was given a fair fight in terms of numbers since both Eric and Mu La Flaga were pitted against two opponents. He had to admit though Mu was holding up a lot better against the DINN and Buster as Eric had discovered after the departure from Heliopolis a lot better than he would have thought possible.

Still Eric had no time to be impressed by any performance Mu may have shown on the battle d as the Duel fired off another grenade from the launcher mounted on the bottom of its rifle forcing Eric to pull back to avoid being hit by the projectile or caught it the explosion in would have created. Before the Dual fired a couple of beams from its rifle.

Eric flew to the side the avoid the attacks before firing off his Gatling gun which the Dual made no effort to dodge. The would be question as to why was answered when the bullets hit doing no damage.

"Hah stupid natural it looks like you don't even know to use that machine properly!" Yelled the Dual's pilot Yzak over an open channel followed up by Ramius' voice over a more private channel connected to the Hope.

"Raglan all the prototypes have phase shift armor which renders all physical rounds useless."

Eric mentally cursed himself. While he figured what the purpose of the phase Armor was from piloting his own Gundam he should have taken into consideration the enemies he was facing also piloted Gundams.

Taking that into consideration it made Eric's options limited since it meant the Gatling gun and Schneider Knives were both useless. Still the armament situation was a lot better now than it was back on Heliopolis.

'As much as I hate to admit it I'll have to thank the EA for the beam rifle later.'

The mental note was interrupted when alarms inside his cockpit went off alerting to an incoming attack from behind.

Eric accelerated to the side in time to avoid being hit directly from behind. However whatever was launched at him still managed to graze the side of the Hope with eoungh force to knock it off balance but otherwise doing no real damage.

Eric turned the Hope Gundam to see the projectile that he was hit with wasn't missile or beam but a golden spearhead attached to a long cord which retracted the spearhead back to a weapon that was mounted on the Blitz's arm called the Piercer Lock.

If Eric had to guess the pilot was probably hoping to pierce an grab ahold of the Hope. The effort itself understandable if the enemy's mission was to capture the Hope but the attempt itself was futile since the Hope Gundam's phaseshift armor would have kept the spear head from peircing through even if it hit directly.

'So their aim is to capture the Hope after all.'

"Time to die natural!" Yelled Duel's pilot as he fired his beam rifle which Eric dived under whilst spinning around to face the Duel again before following up by firing his twin cannons forcing the Duel to back off.

'Or at least that's the Blitz's goal.'

Turning face the Blitz Eric saw the enemy Gundam take aim with its beam rifle firing at the Hope which responded by bringing up its shield before returning fire which the Blitz was forced to dodge.

What happened next cause Eric to nearly panic when he saw the Blitz start visually fading becoming less and less visible by the second. If the Blitz was allowed to turn invisible Eric would have no way to see it by eye and considering it managed to sneak inside Artemis' shield perimeter without the personnel at the base noticing odds were none of the Hopes scanners would be able to detect the Blitz once it was visually gone meaning Eric would be left fighting blind.

Doing the only thing that could possibly turn the odds in his favor even if only a little Eric opened fired at the general area of where the Blitz was and much o his relief the Blitz became visible again.

"I should have figured the EA would know the Blitz's fatal weakness. They did build the Gundam after all." Nichol said himself before he felt something hit the Blitz hard from behind.

Turning around Nicol saw the Archangel which was firing at him and the Buster who was forced to retreat leaving the Mobius Zero to face Rue La Cruset alone.

Nicol looked at a diagram of the Blitz displayed by a monitor in front of him and saw one of the Blitz's thrusters were shot out.

"Yzak I'm gonna have to retreat so you're gonna be on your own with the Omega Five."

"Whatever this guy's barely putting up a fight but I guess I shouldn't expect much from a Natural to begin with." With that Yzak fired off another grenade which Eric avoided being hit directly with via climbing but the shockwave created from the explosion of the projectile threw the Hope off balance.

Seeing the opportunity for a more personal approach Yzak decided to switch to his beam saber and make a beeline for the Hope.

Eric tried the take aim with his beam rifle but Yzak quickly closed the gap between himself and the Hope Gundam and cut through the beam rifle forcing Eric to pull back.

Unfortunately for the Hope's pilot Yzak quickly gave chase not giving Eric chance to truly break away before swinging his beam saber forcing Eric to block it with his shield.

"So how long do you think you can delay the inevitable huh? You mine as well give up now and make this easier on yourself."

Eric didn't bother with a reply as he discarded the remains of the rifle and pulled out an emerald colored beam saber and making a horizontal swing which the Duel easily parried before following up with a horizontal swing of its own which forced Eric to pull back to avoid.

Soon after the Duel closed to gap between the two and made a horizontal swing which Eric barley managed to block causing both Gundams to lock blades.

Soon both pilots began pushing against each other only to discover that their respective machines were evenly matched in terms of strength.

Letting his ego further take over engaged his trusters and tarted pushing the Hope back. Eric immediately became alarmed at this.

Not simply because he was being pushed back in general but rather the specific direction which was right towards the Archangel. It was obvious that Yzak was intending to push and ram the Hope into the Archangel taking out both the Gundam and ship in one blow but Eric couldn't allow that to happen.

If the Duel's pilot achieved his goal not only would Eric die but everyone on the Archangel would soon follow.

Engaging his own thrusters Eric stopped the advance in its tracks and was once against in a deadlock with the Duel.

"You can restist all you want but in the end you're going down and after I'm done with you I'm gonna shoot that ship down."

For the first since the entire fight started Eric replied. "Not while there's breath in my body you're not!" With that Eric fired his twin shoulder cannons blasting off the Duel's right arm and searing the top of its left shoulder.

"Why you...!" Yzak wasn't able to finished his sentence as the Hope swung its beam saber across the front of the Duel's abdomen causing the monitor in the Gundam's cockpit to exploded leaving Yzak one the recieving end of a lot of shrapnel.

What followed were the pilot's screams but Eric didn't waste time savoring the victory as he turned to the others and say that Kira was in trouble.

XXXXX

"Let me go Athrun I'm not going with you, I have friends on the ship I can't abandon!" exclaimed Kira from within the now power delpeted Stirke which was being carried off by the Aegis now in its grappler form.

"Your one of us Kira."

"I won't join Zaft!"

"Kira please don't do this." Athrun said almost pleading. "If you refuse come with me I'll have to shoot you down."

Athrun siletly prayed Kira would come back with him. While Rue La Cruset gave Athrun the chance to bring Kira back when Athrun told him of his childhood friend in private he also had to promise to shoot Kira if he refused to come with him voluntarily.

"I told you already I can't leave my friends on the Archangel to die!"

"Kira the EA only sees you as a tool."

Kira was about to retort when he suddenly was hailed over the radio. Soon after Eric's faced appeared on the monitor.

"Kira are you ok?"

"Yeah but I got caught."

"Don't worry I'm coming to help just use your reserve power to get back to the Archangel once you're free."

Athrun who had intercepted the transmission became alarmed when the Hope fired its twin cannons at the back of the Aegis forcing Athrun to let go Kira who wasted no time in heading to the Archangel and switched the Aegis back to its' mobile suit form.

The Hope quickly closed the gap bewteen its self and Athrun bringing its beam saber horizontally which Athrun intercepted with one of his own Sabers.

"Who are you?!" He demanded.

"Someone who's stopping you from kidnapping Kira!"

"I'm bringing Kira back with me to Zaft. He doesn't belong on the EA's side." Athrun said pulling out one of the Aegis' other beam sabors in its' opposite hand and bringing the weapon down only for it to block by the Hope's shield.

"Kira doesn't want anything to do with this war!"

Deciding that he'd rather not argue with his opponent over what should happen with Athrun changed the subject.

"Where did you get the Omega Five and kind machine is it? It was never found in the Morgenroete facility."

"It wasn't built there it was made in the neighboring facility next to it which was privately owned. Beyond that the only tell you its a Gundam like the original five and it's called called the Hope."

Athrun Was about to reply when he was hailed on the radio by Rue La Cruset.

"Athrun we're retreating."

"But sir we can still capture the Strike and destroy the Archangel along with the other Mobile suit."

"The Blitz and Buster have been forced to retreat due to interference from the legged ship and the Omega five has managed to damage the Duel and severely injure Joule."

Athrun's eyes widened as his commander finished. Looking around Athrun saw the Blizt which had damaged thruster carrying a badly damaged Duel back to the Vesalius.

"But how did...?"

"A mixture of interference from the legged ship and Joule's overconfidence led to the odds being shift into our enemy's favor. As such we need to retreat." Rue La Cruset said answering the question Athrun was about to ask before being cut off.

Athrun then cut the connection with Rue La Cruset and turned his attention back to the Hope's pilot.

"Are you gonna keep getting in my way?"

Even without being told what Eric already knew what Athrun was referring to.

"I'm not gonna you let shoot down the Archangel as long as the refugees along with my family and friends are on it."

Eric's eyes narrowed "And unless Kira decides he wants to go with you of his own free will I'm not gonna let you take him anywhere."

"He's one of us!"

"Maybe but he's already told you he has friends he can't abandon."

"You were listening to us?"

"Not everything but I intercepted enough of you conversation to know you seem intent on bringing Kira with you to the Plants against his will. Is having him really that strategically beneficial to you?"

Athrun grew all but downright pissed at that statement. "He's my long time friend and the only people who want him for any type of strategic advantage are you and the rest of the EA."

"I wouldn't put your accusation past the EA considering the pointless genocidal campaign they're waging against the Plants. But me, Kira and the rest of our friends just want to go back to Orb."

"He's going to be killed if he keeps fighting for the EA."

"Did you miss everything I said? Kira doesn't want any part of this war, he just wants to live in peace back on Orb."

"Who exactly are you to get in my way?"

"A friend of Kira's who wants to protect him and the rest of our friends onboard the Archangel."

"I meant your name."

"Eric Raglen." With that the Hope took off in the Archangel's direction.

Athrun in turned started heading in the direction of the Vesalius. Eric Raglan pilot of the Hope. It seemed this guy was going to be a bigger problem them Athrun had originally thought.

To think that guy had not only taken out Miguel but injured Yzak to the point that he'd be off the battle field for a bit. It didn't help matters that the Hope's pilot was now intent on getting in Athrun's way when it came to Kira.

Regardless however Athrun was determined not to lose anyone else he cared for. As such he'd fight whoever he had to as long as it assured that he achieved Kira's safety and that of others he cared about.

And if the Hope's pilot was insist on being an obstacle to that then...

Athrun wouldn't hesitate to shoot the Hope down in order to get to Kira.

XXXXX

While heading back to the Archangel a signal was suddenly received on his cockpit's monitor.

Heading towards it Eric soon found a single life pod only showing one life sign. Odds are it was an Artemis personnel.

Eric was more than certain they'd be put in the brig and later charged with treason once they got back to earth if Eric brought them back to the Archangel.

A fitting enough fate all things considered.

Heading towards the life pod Eric soon grabbed it and hailed it over the radio.

To say Eric was shocked when he found out who it was would have been an understatement. Of all people would could have been on the life boat the monitor had to display the face of none other then the bastard who shot his adoptive father putting him into a coma and attempted to steal the mobile suits.

"So I guess you're gonna take back to your ship and have me thrown in brig am I right?"

"If you were anyone else from Artemis that might have been the case. But considering what you put friends through and what you did to my dad you're not going to have the chance to leave that life boat."

Garcia felt a pure sense of fear overtake him. "Wh...what do you mean?"

"I mean you're gonna meet your end and now." Eric said as the Hope reignited its' beam saber and raised it.

Garcia was struck by disbelief wondering who things could go so wrong when it seemed like the two mobile suits were in the palm of his hands before.

The rear admiral could only watch as the green blade cut through the life boat and sent him into the Abyss.

* * *

 **So there you have it that's the end of this chapter. Sorry for the wait but aside from the longer length of this chapter I also had to redo the fight scene with Hope vs Blitz/Duel because when I researched the Blitz and Duel on gundam wikia to find out what their specific weapons were I found out the Duel didn't have its shoulder mount Railgun or missile silo until after it was damaged and then repaired.**

 **So I had to redo the fight scene because in the original version the Duel would have had them right from the beginning.**

 **Beyond that I actually had tough time deciding a few things involving many of Eric's actions towards Garcia because I realized that due to the main pairing I have to be careful make Eric a full on vigilante consumed by hate because I doubt Lacus if she were in character would like him if he was but at the same time I could not make him downright forgiving since Garcia did shoot his adoptive father so Eric was bound to be more than a little pissed. Because of that I found myself having to find a middle ground which I tried my best to capture in this chapter.**

 **As the scene with Garcia trying to get Kira and Eric to unlock their Gundam's OS systems showed Eric held a great deal of hatred for Garcia but not to the point he was blinded by it and forgetting about the well being of the others being held at gunpoint on he Archangel as shown when he held himself back from making any revenge attempts right then there for their sakes. To make long story short he basically put the well being of others before his desire for retribution.**

 **Still as the end of the chapter showed revenge did indeed become an end goal for Eric as shown when he killed Garcia. Which is actually a scene I was really debating going through with at all. Originally I wanted to have Eric kill Garcia in a much more sadistic way by either taking the life pod in both of hope's hands and slowly crush it until it was, damage its beacon so it wouldn't give any type of signal to anyone looking for it and leave Garcia to die of starvation or suffocation mainly because I personally hate Garcia for some reason and felt a slower death was deserved but as I said before the main pairing demands middle ground when it comes to Eric's actions towards enemies so I had to go for a quick death so he didn't come off as a vengeful sadist.**

 **Any look forward to the next chapter "fateful meeting."**


	7. Fateful meeting

**alright sorry for the long wieght but here's the next chapter**

 **Disclaimer**

* * *

"Dammit what do you think you're doing have you turned traitor?" The pilot of a GINN armed with a beam rifle he was currently firing yelled out as a Black CGUE with a red chest and an insignia of earth with two parralel sword crossed over it and armed with a violet colored beam saber closed the distance between the two and cut the rifle in half before replying.

"I guess you didn't get the memo from my machine's color scheme. Me and my colleagues aren't with Zaft."

The CGUE swung its' saber again vertically only for the GINN to fly to the left avoiding the attack.

"Don't you realize the ship you're attacking isn't a military vessal or that miss Clyne is onboard?!"

The pilot of the CGUE smirked. "Yeah I realize that. In fact miss Clyne's presence pretty much the main reason we're here."

The CGUE flew towards the the GINN swinging its' beam saber. The GINN pulled back and avoided getting cut across the chest but not before losing its left arm.

"Are you insane!? The chairmen would have you hunted down by the entirety of Zaft if you did such a thing!"

"In a scenario where he found out it was us maybe. But sadly that won't be the case since none of you will be alive long enough to speak about this."

With that the CGUE closed in one its opponent once more thrusting its' beam saber forward in the process and stabbed the GINN through the cockpit.

"Now to put the plant's little princess down under."

XXXXX

On board a Laurasia class ship many personnel and civilians alike were running frantically either to battle stations or life boats depending on which two catigories they were individually in.

Amongst the latter of the two was a particular pink haired girl carrying a pink colored haro.

She was wondering why all this was happening. Currently the ship she was on under attack by what reports believed at first to be a Zaft party but when none of the enemy mobile suits or three Nasca class ships that came had any form of IFF codes many became unsure of who the attackers were.

Why they were attacking the Laurasia was beyond the girl's understanding. While the vessel was one of Zaft's and housed a few GINNs the ship itself was only here to bring the volunteers and military officials to conduct a memorial service at the ruins of Junius Seven and the GINNs were only there as a deterrent against certain criminal gangs that would attempt to assail the ship's cargo or civilians on board.

However the attackers in question at least according to what the girl heard some of the officers saying were too organized and possessed too much firepower to be just another gang.

That still left the question of who the attackers were and what they would stand to gain by harming the people on board when they simply wanted to pay respects to those lost by the war.

"You need to come with me!" An officer told her.

"OK but what about the others?" The girl asked as she followed the officer through the halls of the ship.

"We're doing everything we can but we need to ensure your safety at all cost."

"OK." The girl conceded though she actually bore no desire to be given such priority. In her mind the lives of the other civilians were just as important as her own.

Soon the Girl was put into a single life pod. "May I ask what is being done to ensure the safety of the others?"

"We're putting them in other life pods to ensure their safety also."

"Thank you." The girl said.

"Don't worry, the other civilians will be alright." The officer said as he closed her life pod and sent it out.

Laughing bitterly the officer felt a sense of self loathing come over him. "If only."

Everything he told the girl was a lie. The truth was the life pod she was in was the only one still working.

Thanks to damage to the ship's systems none of the other pods could be launched. As unfortunate as it was the reality of the situation demanded the girl's life be given precedence less the war escalate even further than it already did.

"Sorry miss Clyne but no matter what you have to live." Moments after the Laurasia class ship became engulfed in an explosion.

XXXXX

"You can't be serious." Eric all but exclaimed.

He along with Kira and Mu had been called to the bridge as soon as they got back to the Archangel for a much needed discussion involving the Archangel's current lack of supplies in almost every type of resource.

In fact the only thing the crew was even moderately supplied in was weaponry for personnel and mobile suits though that didn't stop Murdoch from trying to inquire as to why Eric let the beam rifle issued to the Hope Gundam get destroyed. However thanks to Ramius requiring the three pilots' presence "ASAP" Eric was able to avoid the would be inquiry.

As it turned out thanks to Garcia's attempt at seizing the Gundams the Archangel was denied the chance to be resupplied and now as a result the major members of the crew, Pilots and anyone else who worked on the bridge were having the said meeting.

The next course of action that Murrue, Natarle, and Mu decided to take was to head to the ruins of Junius Seven of all places to try and find supplies there.

"No one said anything about taking joy in this but we don't have that many rations left. With all the refugees on board food is already being stretched and we're even worse with water." Mu said.

As much as Eric may have wanted to protest he couldn't. While what was decided was sacrilege and beyond wrong considering where they were going the situation demanded it. Especially since the crew was forced to place such restrictions on water to the point that no one could even shower.

"At the very least we should be to find ice to refill our water supply." Murrue said.

"Then it's decided we'll head to Junius seven." Natarle announced.

"Is this really right?" Kira asked before getting a reply from Mu.

"It's not but we don't really have a choice its either that or let the dearth in resources get worst. Speaking of which..." Mu turned to Eric.

"Murdoch still wants an explanation on you lost the beam rifle issued to your machine."

"The Duel's pilot decided they wanted an upclose and personal fight and cut the thing in half. It wasn't my fault."

"Well you'll at least need to tell Murdoch that."

"Fine."

"Don't worry Murdoch may not be happy about the weapon being destroyed but considering everything that happened I doubt he's gonna hold it against you."

"That good to know. I really don't feel like having any quarrels at the moment."

"Don't worry there's not gonna be anymore incidences like the one that happened after the blood test."

"Glad to hear it, one time was enough."

"Wait what incident?" Kira asked.

The event involving the now deceased guard who refused to believe the results of the test and attacked Eric was for the most part kept secrete as to not stir up panic or distrust amongst the refugees or crew in fact the only person who knew about what had happened aside from Eric and the Archangel's commanders were the civilian who administered the blood test and the other guard that didn't act out of line and they were both told not to speak to anyone about what happened.

"Let's just say that guard who helped Garcia find us decided to make his racial views known before we got to Artemis."

"O-ok."

"Anyway since it's been decided I'm heading back to my room."

"Oh that reminds me we've gotten an uniform and flight suit ready for you. They're in your closet."

"OK but I never really volunteered."

"Maybe but with Zaft after us we're gonna need all the help we can get. Besides it would be better if you helped us as an EA volunteer rather than a civilian coursed into fighting."

'Better for you and the rest of the EA since it protects your image.' Eric thought before speaking.

"Fine but only until we reach earth. I'm going back to Orb with my brother and dad."

While Eric didn't like the EA the fact remained those he cared about along with the only two people he could consider family were still onboard.

"That's fine." Mu said causing Natarle to scowl.

To anyone who knew her well enough they were well aware that she was the pragmatic type and considering the situation with Zaft and the overall war with the Plants the Earth Alliance needed any edge they could get especially since the numbers advantage really didn't count for much and the Gundams were essentially the only game changer.

Since the Hope had a DNA lock and a timed detonation which assured no one else could pilot it losing Eric would mean the Hope would lose its use to the EA which was a blow they could ill afford. So to say Natarle didn't agree with the idea of letting Eric leave the ship or even Kira for that matter.

Walking out of the door Eric grimaced the idea of working as one of the EA even if it was unofficially.

Still in the end it was for the sake of those close to him so he would deal with it for the time being.

XXXXX

"Flay how could you do such a thing!?" Callahan explained.

Since the time the meeting about the Archangels next course of action everyone had gathered in the meas hall where a discussion of Flay's decision to reveal Kira and Eric to the Artemis personnel was taking place.

It was no secrete that Callahan was upset by Flay's action and considering his relationship with Kira and Eric it was no surprise.

"I don't see what the problem is. Even if they're both Coordinators they're fighting on our side so it should have been OK."

"Flay that guy in charge of the Artemis could have had any number of things done to them and the fact he had everyone held at gun point should've made it clear he was no friend even if he was part of the EA. And for the record Eric's a Natural."

"So he's really the same as us?" Kuzzy asked nervously hoping for absolute confirmation

"What does it matter? When all things are said and done Eric is still our friend." Tolle said.

"Yeah but..." Flay said wanting to protest Tolle's view but unsure if it would have been a good idea.

"Flay Eric and Kira saved our lives even after theirs were put in danger. The least you can do is apologize." Mirriallia said.

Flay moaned in annoyance not seeing why she owed either of the two pilots any type of apology or anything for that matter. In her eyes one was a space monster but on the Natural's side meaning there was no reason for the EA to considered him an enemy and the other was a loser not worth caring about in the least and probably one of those space monsters on top of that even if Callahan said otherwise. As far as she was concerned she hadn't really done anything wrong.

XXXXX

Back in his room Eric sat at the desk with his labtop in front of him. The disk he had found in the Hope's cockpit after the incident on the colony of Heloipolis was still in his PC since the last time he tried to view what was on it.

Pulling up a file screen Eric quickly found a file called special intended message which turned out to required a password with a hint asking for "The name of the Hope's chosen." Eric immediately tried his own name but the screen soon said "Password word is incorrect."

Since Eric had no luck with the first file he looked at a second file below called "Gundam data."

Opening the file Eric soon found a journal entry and began reading.

If your viewing this than you most likely inherited the torch I tried to carry but found myself unable to.

The world right now is heading down a path of needless destruction since many people refuse to own up to their own. mistakes created from past and perhaps still present greed.

In the past I've looked for attempts to put an end to that unnecessary misery but the answer I came to and tried to implement along side my former colleague and friend only lead to an irreversible sin.

Most involved in it are dead and those who survived may very well never have a place on any side of the entire earth sphere again.

Still a my former colleague refuses to see the path we had tried to choose for the world was one that not a single individual or group could hope to take and truly succeed in. He now believes the world needs to be brought to its' knees in order to stop its' destructive cycle.

I might not be able to reverse what's been done but I'm sure I can ensure a chance to stop my former friend's ambition.

What you possess now merely the first step, the prototype of its' successor, the power required for what needs to be done is still not within your possession.

What you're about to see is the project for the weapon that will at the very least give you a potential means to stop the needless tragedy my former partner would commit.

When Eric looked below the journal entry what he saw were schematics.

If he wasn't already astounded by what he had just read he was now by the said schematic.

"This is the blue print for a new Gund..."

Eric was cut off by Natarle's voice sounding over the intercom.

"Yamato, Raglan head to the hanger bay and prepare to launch in the Strike and Hope."

Eric quickly pulled a thumb drive and put it into the laptop. After quickly copying the schematics to the thumb drive and the password protected video to the hard drive on his laptop he closed his PC and walked over to the closet pulling the EA uniform and flight suit out.

XXXXX

"Should we really be doing this?" Kira asked as he and Eric came into the hanger bay.

"I don't like it anymore than you do but it can't helped." Eric who was wearing a blue and white flight suit which was a new change of pace considering he was wearing civilian clothing the previous times he piloted the Hope said as he entered his respective machine.

After closing the hatch and waiting for the main screens to come on and display the outside Eric began walking the Hope over to the catapult and soon was contacted by Mirriallia.

"You ready to launch?"

"Yeah."

"Um Eric I know you never really liked Flay but..." Mirriallia said but stopped unsure as weather or not to continue.

"All I'll say in that regard is that I don't care about how she gave the guys at Artemis my name since I kind of needed confirmation so they'd let me go to the Hope and stop it from self detonating on the Archangel but giving them Kira name as the Strike's pilot was wrong no matter how you look at it."

"You got a point there but I'm surprised you're not holding her responsible for what happened to your dad."

"Garcia was the one to blame for that."

"Well I'm glad you're not holding that against her."

"Well I'm being honest what she did at Artemis didn't earn her any brownie points. Anything else I'll keep to myself."

Eric never really liked Flay to begin with but now he just plain hated her, still even if she mine as well have had five whole tree trunks up her ass she wasn't worth begrudging besides Eric had already personally made Garcia pay for his actions against his dad and he honestly didn't hold that particular part against Flay as he told Mirriallia since the redhead wasn't the one who shot Abram and he was still alive and had a chance to recover so no one was truly lost in the incident.

Overall Flay was just stuck up princess wannabe who do anything to save her own skin including sell others out.

Mirriallia sighed before replying. "fair enough."

"Alright Eric Raglan, Hope launching." With that the Hope Gundam soon accelerated into the ruins and surrounding debris soon followed by the Strike and Mobius Zero which came out of the Archangel's other leg.

"This place is large so we'll have to split up to cover more ground." Mu said.

"But is that really a good idea?" Kira asked.

Ramius' voice sounded over the Radio. "It's risky but we need to optimize our chances at finding anything we can use."

Natarle spoke over the radio next. "Since we need to expand the search as wide as possible all three units will have to go beyond the range Archangel's radars, as such you are to maintain radio silence after splitting up and only contact us of you spot the enemy or find supplies."

"Be careful Eric and don't do anything too dangerous." Said Mirriallia.

Eric actually smirked. "I imagine Callahan is telling Kira the same thing?"

Mirriallia giggled trying to hold back laughter. "Yeah he's pretty much making Kira promise to come back if the enemy shows up."

"I figured as much but I digress I'll stay out of danger."

"You better, Callahan may be fussing over Kira's safety but I doubt he'd be happy if you did anything reckless, you're still his brother after all."

"Good point, Eric Raglan out." With that Eric cut the connection with the Archangel.

Flying out into a more remote part of the ruins on the broken colony. The Hope soon flew into a crevasse in between two large chunks of the colony.

Maneuvering between the various asteroids and chunks of metal that once belonged to the colony Eric's mind began to wonder back to the schematics he saw.

If what the journal entry written by Shirou said was correct than the schematics were for a new mobile mobile suit that surpassed Hope and the original five prototypes.

While a new and more powerful suit may very well end up being enough of a game changer to end the war considering how powerful the prototypes were Eric was certain he didn't want the to give schematics anyone on the Archangel.

While there were a few people who didn't seem to carry absolute prejudice against Coordinators such as Mu and Murrue they were still with the EA so they were far from Eric's first choice of candidates.

Unfortunately the same went for practically anyone else on the ship and Eric couldn't do anything with the schematics on his own since he lacked the knowledge or means to construct any type of mobile suit.

At the moment the file on the disk was useless.

On that note however there were also other things in the journal entry that caught Eric's attention. He found himself wondering about what Shirou meant by irreversible sin.

Could what the pilot of the CGUE Eric took out back on Heliopolis said about Shirou not being the person Eric thought he was be true after all?

Eric didn't want to believe it. He admired Shirou for trying to do something to help end the war that didn't involve helping the EA in their genocidal campaign against the Plants.

All thoughts were interrupted when Eric came to an open space and saw what looked like a Zaft GINN and CGUE of all things fighting.

The GINN was firing a beam rifle while the CGUE easily dodged before returning fire with its own weapons.

Eric stared momentarily confused at this until he noticed the CGUE's color scheme. Unlike a traditional CGUE which was generally light and dark gray the mobile attacking that GINN was black with a red chest.

Eric turned on his radio and switched to an open channel he was well out of the Archangel's radar so contacting them right now was useless unless he headed back.

Be that as it may however informing the ship of this wasn't Eric's intention as of yet. What he was hoping for was to intercept any communications going between the two mobile suits.

As luck would have it the two opponents were also using open channels.

"Do you realize who's inside the life pod!?" Exclaimed who Eric had to guess was the pilot of the GINN judging by the desperation in their voice and the fact the GINN was on the defensive.

Eric also noticed that there was a life pod not too far away from the two mobile suits.

Laughter was heard coming from the CGUE. "If it's who I think it is judging by how hard you and your and partners were fighting to protect them then yeah I think I do. Too bad for them they're the target.

The CGUE fired both Vulcan guns mounted to the shields on its arms and pelleted the GINN to the point it exploded.

Eric who had been watching silently was repulsed at the idea that someone was trying to destroy a life pod. Unless the person inside was metaphorically another Garcia there was absolutely no justification in doing what the CGUE was about to do.

Since there was no longer anything delaying the CGUE and Eric doubted the Archangel would step in, at least not immediately if he actually had time to contact them which meant there was only one obvious option.

The CGUE turned its' attention to the life pod and took aim with its' left arm mounted Volcan gun at the life pod.

"I know you're not directly involved with the war but you're still gonna have to die here."

Before the CGUE could fire however it was pelleted by a barrage of bullets which rendered its arm inoperable.

"What the hell?"

The CGUE then turned to see the Hope Gundam rushing towards it with an emerald colored saber in hand.

"Why you. Who do you think you're dealing with!?" The pilot of the CGUE yelled and surprisingly got a reply.

"A scumbag who's no better than the Earth Alliance." With that the Hope finished closing the distance between itself and the CGUE before cutting off the arm that was still operational.

"Dammit just when we were so close!" The pilot of the CGUE said before taking off in the opposite direction.

Eric was half tempted to chase the bastard down but decided that reporting that there were enemies at Junius seven to the Archangel and bringing the life pod to it on board the ship took precedence.

Flying over to the life pod Eric grabbed it in both of the Hope's hands and attempted to contact it.

A window showing static showed up on the PC monitor meaning Eric had no way to see who was inside. Luckily however the monitor still showed a stable audio connection meaning he could still speak with the person inside the life pod.

"This is the pilot of the Hope Eric Raglan speaking please respond if you can hear me."

A soft feminine voice replied. "Um are you here to help?"

"Yes you can rest assured you're safe."

"Thank you!" The girl inside the life pod beamed before being followed up by a mechanical voice.

"We're saved we're saved we're saved!"

Eric snorted trying to suppress a giggle. "A Harobot I'm guessing?"

"Yes! Do you know about them?" The girl asked.

"As fate would have it I have one of my own he's been a companion of mine for a few years."

"Oh really? Mine's called Mr pink, what about yours?!"

"Just Haro. I never really thought of an actual name though he's still a good friend when it comes to getting through tough times."

"Sounds like he'll be good friends with Mr pink."

If Eric wasn't hearing a helmet he probably would have scratched the back of his head whilst imagining the scenario.

"He probably would. Anyway we're almost at the ship I'm gonna contact them real quick."

"Ok."

Eric switched radio frequencies as soon as he was in range of the ship. "This is Eric Raglan of the Hope calling the Archangel."

"We read you. Have you found anything we can use?" Mirriallia asked.

"No I found a life pod."

As soon as Eric finished that sentence Natarle's voice came over the radio.

"Raglan we are having a difficult time keeping everyone on board the Archangel fed already. We don't need another mouth to feed."

"I'm not leaving them to die."

"You will cease your actions or..." Natarle was cut off by Ramius.

"It's fine you can bring her aboard."

"Thank you."

Eric heard some form of arguing coming from Natarle and Ramius disagreeing on how the situation with the life pod should have been handle but ignored it and switched back to an open frequency to speak to the girl in the life pod.

"I let the crew know I'm bringing you just wait a little longer."

XXXXX

"Are you certain that's what it was?" Rooks asked one of the pilots of the fleet he had sent to ensure Lacus' death.

As unlikely as it seemed the pilot in question found a life pod which had Lacus in it and was about to destroy it but was interfered with at the last possible second. What made it next to unbelievable wasn't the timing however but who was responsible for the intervention.

"Yeah the unknown machine that Barclay wants destroyed."

"I see. If that's the case we'll have to regroup. You can leave."

"I'll see to my machine's repairs." The pilot of the disabled CGUE said before leaving whilst silently promising to pay back the pilot of the unknown prototype for the humiliation the former suffered at his hands today.

After being left alone on the bridge of the Nasca class battle ship Rooks turned to the main window and spoke.

"Did you get all that?"

At that moment a PC window appeared and displayed Barclay's masked face smirking.

"I did and I must say this makes for interesting development."

Rooks raised an eyebrow.

"Sir thanks to the unknown machine's interference we lost our chance to dispose of Lacus Clyne covertly.

Barclay chuckled. "Perhaps but it may just mean we need to move forward in the grand scheme of things."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you're aware that if Ms Clyne is allowed to return to the Plants she'd likely report what had happened giving the government of the Plants an inkling to our existence."

"If that's the case then we'll pursue the ship she was brought on at once."

"No need for that just yet."

"Sir I don't understand."

"We'll let Zaft have center stage a slight while longer."

"Am I to assume you'll have us take it from them after the said while?"

"Since it's likely we'll be discovered in the near future and even if the case is otherwise we'll have to make a debut sooner or later it may be in our best interest to make sure the said debut is on our own terms."

"Does that mean we'll abandon the assassination of Ms Clyne?"

"No if things head to the optimal direction Zaft might unknowingly do the job for us and in the case they don't we'll step in directly and assassinate Ms Clyne and eliminate the unknown mobile suit along with its' pilot all while making our said debut to the earth sphere."

Rooks smiled for the first time.

"So you intend to kill three birds with one stone."

"Precisely and also I'll be heading there myself to join you."

"Is there some particular reason?"

"No there's not. I simply wish to personally test the capabilities of this unknown machine and its' pilot if Zaft fails to destroy it."

Rooks chuckled slightly. "I suppose it's worth seeing with one's own eyes considering its performance already."

XXXXX

"Who exactly did you bring onboard?" Asked Callahan as he, Eric, and the others stood in front the life pod Eric had brought on board.

Around fifteen minutes ago Eric arrived back at the Archangel with the life pod in the Hope's hands.

After putting the life pod down the maintenance crew quickly discovered the door was broken and the pod had also ran out of power a few minutes before Eric bought it back so there was no longer any means to communicate with the girl inside.

"I actually don't know."

"Did she refuse to give you her name or something?" Tolle asked.

"No I forgot to ask."

"Seriously you were out there with her before her pod ran out of power and you couldn't think to ask who she was?"

"I got side tracked."

"By what?"

As if to answer the teen's question the mechanics finally got the door to the life pod open and moments later a pink harobot came hopping out repeatedly saying "we're saved" as it hopped around the hanger bay.

"Is that what side tracked you?"

"Yes. Still I'm curious about who..." Eric stopped in mid sentence as the girl in question slowly floated out of the life pod for everyone in the hanger to see.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Callahan said quietly.

The girl in question wore a white shirt with separate sleeve leaving her shoulder bare along with a long purple skirt and had long flowing pink hair with a gold hairpin and blue eyes.

Of all the people throughout the entire Earth Sphere Eric could have rescued the person held inside the life pod was the none other then the famous pop singer and charman's daughter of the Plants Lacus Clyne.

A friend from Heliopolis once said videos don't succeed in capturing a girl's true beauty. At the time Eric simply dismissed their claim as a perverse innuendo but seeing Lacus in person actually might have proved their claim much truer than he would have thought possible.

The pop singer was without a doubt cute when one saw her on video but in person she had a radiance that even typical popular girls like Flay couldn't compare to. Eric knew Lacus was beautiful but seeing her up close she seemed on par with a goddess or angel if she didn't surpass them.

When her feet touched ground she looked around as if scrutinizing the crew before she spoke.

"Um pardon me but might I inquire as to which one of you is Eric Raglan?"

"You'll get the chance to meet him later but for right now I need both you and him to come with us and tell me what you were doing in a life pod of all things and what happened when Eric found you." Ramius said.

"OK."

Mu smiled. "Still if you want to at least put a face to the person who saved you he's right there his tan complexion should keep you from missing him."

Lacus turned to Eric and smiled. "I know I already said this but I'm truly grateful to you for saving me."

"Uh yeah it was the right thing to do so I ... Kind of acted on that." Eric said whilst scratching the back of his head.

Lacus giggled a bit."It's good to know my rescuer has a good heart."

"Um thank you." Eric said fighting back a blush that threatened to surface.

"Come on we need to get all this sorted out." Murrue said leading the two teens out of the hanger along with Mu and Natarle.

After the lieutenants were gone Callahan whistled. "I should have made a bet with Eric on weather or not he'd get to meet the Plant's famous pop singer."

"Out of the ten billion people in the entire earth sphere Eric ended up finding Lacus, it's hard to believe." Mirriallia said.

"Yeah but as unlikely as it is the person in that life pod was definitely Lacus Clyne."

XXXXX

"Do you realize you may have endangered everyone on board the Archangel with your desire to play knight in shining armor?" Natarle asked.

"I couldn't just leave her to die."

Eric and Lacus had just finished explaining what had happened during the latter's voyage the to ruined colony and her rescue by Eric. It did take long for it to become known that the knowledge that Eric had ran into an enemy who got away after he fought them off wasn't exactly bode well with the three in charge of the Archangel.

"So you would endanger everyone on the ship for a single girl?"

"If I hadn't stepped she would of been murdered."

"What is the value of a single life when compared to the entirety of everyone onboard the Archangel?"

"I honestly don't know. But I do know no one should be killed needlessly."

Natarle was about to retort but Murrue spoke first.

"Raglan as lieutenant Badgiruel said you might have endangered our entire ship. If what Lacus told us is true than there are likely others in league with that CGUE pilot you attacked and they may very well attack us now to get to Lacus."

"If that happens I'll deal with them myself when they show up up."

"Raglan your determination to protect the Plants' princess is admirable but if we're dealing with a group that goes beyond typical raiding parties you can't expect to take them on by yourself." Mu said.

"Considering the direction this talk is going in I'm not being any other options."

"What exactly are you implying?" Murrue asked slightly glaring at Eric.

"That from my perspective it sounds like you guys would prefer to let this unidentified group kill her to avoid a fight and save your own skin."

"You are out of..." Natarle was cut by a hand gesture from Murrue.

"No one said anything about intentionally allowing miss Clyne to be killed however you need to take into consideration the safety of everyone else on board the Archangel such as your friends, brother, and father."

"..."

"And also watch how you talk to us I'll overlook it this time but your smart remarks won't be tolerated is that clear?"

"Yes." Eric said not really caring too much about the warning he was given.

"Good. We'll give miss Clyne refuge on the Archangel for the time being. Kira already brought back enough ice to refill a good portion our water supply for the time being but we should leave immediately."

"No argument there. The faster we're out of were the better. We don't want to run in to this other group and Zaft is still pursuing us. The faster we can meet link up with the eighth fleet the better."

"The eighth eight?" Eric said.

"Yeah it turns out were to head to the location of the Eighth fleet now orders came in just a bit before you brought the Plant's princess on board."

"Speaking of which." Natarle cut in before continuing.

"We still need to find miss Clyne a room to stay in."

"I think I might just have a solution for that." Mu chimed smiling at Eric who's eyes widened.

Somehow Eric already knew the direction Mu was taking the conversation in.

"Since his bother decided to move into Yamato's room Raglan's room with the sole exception of himself is pretty much vacant why not let her stay in his room?"

"I see no problem with that." Ramius said.

XXXXX

"So this guy we're fighting is named Eric Raglan?" Dearka asked.

"Yeah, at least according to what he said." Athrun answered.

"And his machine is called the Hope?" Nicol asked.

''that's right."

"Was he telling the truth though?"

"I'd say it's safe to assume he is." Another voice said and everyone present turned to see Rue La Cruset.

"I did some research and discovered Eric Raglan was one of the citizens on Heliopolis and a Natural no less."

Dearka who was drinking a soda almost choked on it before spitting it out.

"Wait you mean Yzak actually got beat by a Natural!?" he asked.

"It would seem so."

"Man I can only imagine the look his face when he finds out a Natural was responsible for humiliating him so badly it's gonna leave one hell of a scar on his pride that no surgery in the world will ever get rid of."

"It's not as if his overconfidence had nothing to do with it." Rue said offhandedly before continuing.

"But that's all we have when it comes to the Hope and now we may have another shot at the Archangel."

"But we don't even know where they are." Nicol said.

"Be that as it may the eighth fleet orbiting the area just out of earth's atmosphere sent out an advance unit according to our scouts."

"You think they're going to rendezvous with the legged ship?"

"Considering things from the EA's current stand point they'd more than likely prioritize getting the Strike and Hope to Earth to extract data from both mobile suits. Having the legged ship link up with an advance unit is most likely meant to provide the legged ship with an escort unit and more protection."

"Makes sense the EA needs any advantage they can get." Dearka said.

"I take that means we're going to attack the advance unit?" Athrun asked.

"Yes but not immediately. We need to wait until the legged ship is near first."

"But wouldn't that just make things harder us? The legged ship and the two other prototype proved to be dangerous enough on there own already. Plus with Yzak out of commission making us down one unit it won't be easy to take down the legged ship and advance fleet at the same time on our own." Nicol said.

"Which is why another Nasca class ship housing a small unit of GINNs will be aiding us."

"Well Yzak is gonna blow a fuse when he finds out that the Hope's pilot was taken out before he got a shot at pay back."

Since the last battle at Artemis Yzak was kept in the medical bay to be treated for the injuries he sustained while the Duel was repaired and upgraded.

"You make it sound like we already won." Nicol said.

"Well why not? We can easily take out the legged ship and advance unit already. Bringing in reinforcements is just overkill."

"But the legged ship's crew put up a hard fight the last time we faced them."

"We just got caught off guard is all. I'll admit they're a bit tougher than we thought they were but that's only because the have two of the prototypes with them."

"Perhaps but it would be wise not to underestimate them again less you prefer to end up like Joule." Rue said.

"No I'd rather not."

"Good. Now you're all dismissed."

After saluting Rue La Cruset the three Zaft pilots left.

Now alone the Commander of the Vesalius smirked. "Perhaps I should face the Hope directly. Considering what it did to Joule it might provide some entertainment." Ru said to no one in particular though that wasn't his only reason for wanting to face off with the Hope.

When he tried to dig up more information on Eric Raglan was he found out the boy was adopted by Abram Raglan ten years ago. Rue interest were initially perked when he discovered this and not long after he soon found that any records pertaining to Eric's life before ten years ago were erased. Rue like anyone else if they discovered this would have found it rather odd how there wasn't even a single document on who Eric was before becoming part of the Raglan family, it was almost as if someone had intentionally erased all records of who Eric originally was.

That left the question of why. Was there something significant about him.

Rue would have been lying if he denied being interested in the enigmatic history behind the Hope's pilot.

XXXXX

"Dad I don't know if you can hear me but I'm sorry you shot by that bastard at Artemis base." Eric said looking Abram's comotoes form.

Since it was decided to have Lacus stay in Eric's room the pilot of the Hope decided to visit his adoptive father in the medical bay of the Archangel.

"It's OK it's OK." Eric's blue harobot said before hopping in his hands.

Eric couldn't help but smile at the Harobot's action.

"Thanks." Eric said before letting the Harobot leap from his hands.

Turning back to Abram Eric spoke again. "Dad I know you just wanted to protect me but I was the only one who should've have been in danger back at Artemis."

"I cannot bring myself to see how you should've been in danger. You don't seem like someone who would do anything that'd make you deserving of danger." Another voice said form behind who turned around to see Lacus.

"O-oh Lacus I thought you'd be back in my room."

"Oh sorry, I asked if I could leave but no one was around so I left of my own accord. I didn't intend to do anything wrong."

"No it's fine I'm just surprised is all."

Lacus then looked at Abram.

"I suppose this man's your father?"

"Well adoptive father to tell the truth."

"I see. What happened to him?"

Eric smiled bitterly. "He got shot while trying to protect me."

"I see but I still don't think you deserve to be..." Lacus' stomach growled.

Eric smiled while holding back laughter.

"It looks like you might need to get a bite to eat."

"It would seem so."

"Come on I'll take you to the mess hall."

XXXXX

"Why did you bring her here?" Flay yelled venomously at Eric who had shown up to the mess hall with Lacus.

"Because I'm gonna get her some food." Eric said nonchalantly hiding his annoyance.

"She shouldn't be allowed to have any, she's a Coordinator."

"So what if she is?" Eric asked offhandedly.

"She's with Zaft, she's the enemy! We should be starving her not feeding her!"

It was by this time Lacus spoke up.

"Please there's no need to believe I am enemy. I may be a citizen of the Plants but that does not make me a Zaft solider. If you would be willing to try I'm sure we could be friends."

"Friends with Coordinator?! You're out of your mind there's no I'd want befriend one of your kind!"

Kira who had been listening silently felt his as if a weight manifested in his chest as sadness threatened to overwhelm him.

"You Coordinators are the enemy of all humans, monsters who look like us. You should all die!" Flay screamed.

"That's enough Flay!" Yelled the voice of Callahan.

The brunette was more upset with Flay more than ever before. Thanks to her racial outburst Kira was emotionally hurt and probably fighting back tears from hearing the girl of his dreams make her prejudices against Coordinators known.

He was also worried about the situation spiraling out of control. Though Eric may have been silent and keeping a relatively calm demeanor giving the impression he was taking everything in stride most people. Callahan could tell he was downright pissed. Anger though hidden was still present in his eyes and his hand was forming into a fist.

It was obvious to Callahan at least that Eric really wanted to strangle Flay right now and if she kept up her racial rant there was a chance Eric would.

Averting his eyes from Flay Eric simply walked over to counter where the cooks were giving out food with Lacus in toe.

"You realize there food restrictions in place, so we're only giving one tray to you, you'll have to share with her. Don't take it personally, you're not the only ones." One of the servers said.

Eric looked around and saw what the server meant. Many people were indeed sharing single trays between themselves. Seeing this Eric subconsciously imagined sharing a tray with Lacus and had to fight back a blush that threatened to surface.

"T-that's fine, the tray I'm getting is just for her." Eric said causing Lacus to look at him in surprise.

"But Eric what about you? Surely you should be eat also."

"It's fine you need it more than I do." Eric said as he was handed a tray of food.

"Did the adopted space freak fall for Ms space freak princess? Makes sense considering your kind were made for each other!" Flay yelled out.

Eric gripped the tray harder and probably would have walked over to Flay and punched her square in the face in not for Lacus putting her hand on shoulder and gently tugging him towards the entrance of the mess hall.

As the two exited the mess Mirriallia's voice was heard from back in it. "Flay why did you have to say all that!?"

Eric decided to ignore the argument. While he was actually grateful that Mirriallia was speaking on his and Lacus' behalf he didn't care to listen in on anything Flay had to say since it would likely only add to his desire to punch her out.

XXXXX

Back in Eric's assigned room the Gundam pilot and pop singer sat across from each other on opposite beds. The latter with the tray of food next to her which she had been eating from for last minute or two.

"Are you certain you don't need any?" Lacus asked referring to the food Eric who had gotten her at the expense of any type of meal for himself.

"It's fine you need it more than I do."

"I'll admit I did indeed need a bite to eat but I must insist you also eat." upon finishing her sentence Lacus did something Eric (and probably no one else) would not have expected and used her fork to pick up another piece of which she then held it out for Eric to eat.

Upon registering what was happening Eric's face all but turned redder than Flay's hair when he registered that Lacus was actually attempting to feed him with the fork she had been using no less. If Callahan were here to see this Eric was certain he'd literally never here the end of it especially since the pop singer's friendly gesture could easily be interpreted in more ways than one.

"U-um Lacus I appreciate your offer but there's need."

"But it's the least I could do after all you've done for me in spite of the trouble it's caused you."

"What trouble?"

Lacus placed the fork back on the tray and let her head drop slightly. "You going through all this trouble to care for me even though it may bring danger to the crew and you've been good to me even though I'm a Coordinator even when many others are troubled by my presence. So this is the only I can do to repay the kindness you've shown me in spite of my genetics."

Eric was taken by surprise. Lacus had initially given off the vibe of being a bit of an air head but noe it seemed she was a lot more observant than Eric had given her credit for.

"Lacus you don't have to repay me for anything. I didn't save you in hopes of getting something in return I did because it was the right thing to do. I could care less about your genetics."

"I'm happy to know you don't resent me for them."

"Of course I don't, it doesn't matter weather you're a Natural or a Coordinator you're still a human being when it's all said and done and my friends also know that too. Besides I had a late big sister who was a Coordinator."

"Really, then are you one?"

"No my parents decided only to make her a Coordinator and left me alone as far as my genetics go. So I'm a natural."

"I see and sorry for your loss."

"It's fine I wasn't trying to bring down the mood with tragic tails. I'm just wanting to be clear that I won't ever resent simply for being a Coordinator. Regardless of what you are I still see you as a person."

"Then perhaps you would consider me a friend?"

Eric smiled. "Definitely."

The pink Harobot that was floating around the room spoke. "New friend new friend new friend." soon after Eric's blue Harobot joined in.

"It seems both of our Haros are quite happy."

Eric was about to reply when Natarle's voice was heard over the intercom.

"Yamato, Raglan prepare to launch in in the Strike and Hope and assist the advance unit."

"Sorry it looks like I have to go."

"Good luck Eric. I'll be waiting for your return." Lacus said.

XXXXX

"What's this about an advance unit?" Eric asked as he loaded the Hope onto the Catapult.

"They're basically a small squad of ships sent out to basically act as our escort for the rest of the rest until we met up with the eighth fleet.

"I'm guessing they came under attack?"

"Pretty much. It'd be extremely beneficial to our side as a whole in the war to save them especially since the vice foreign minister George Allster is with them onboard the Montgomery."

"And why exactly would a...never mind I just figured it out from his last name."

"Good, let's hurry from what I've heard Zaft brought a couple of DINNs to the fight along with the stolen G weapons."

"Alright Eric Raglan, Hope launching."

With that the Hope was flung forward by the catapult and soon took to the vastness of space.

Soon followed by the Mobius Zero and Strike Gundam.

Almost immediately the three pilots were greeted with the sight of the advance unit being overpowered by Zaft forces consisting of three the other Gundams with the exception of the Duel, Vesalius and five DINNs four of which being reinforcements while one of them was likely the pilot Mu clashed with before.

The advance unit had a good number of mobile armors likely somewhere over thirty but unfortunately the Gundams were easily tearing their way through the EA's ranks and the extra four DINN's weren't exactly helping matters.

Eric fired off his twin shoulder mounted cannons which managed to instantly take out one of the DINN's upon impact.

XXXXX

"A lost a DINN, but how?" Nicol asked and soon had his question answered when new enemy units showed up on the radar.

"It looks like the legged ship showed up. We might actually get a decent challenge." Dearka said.

"Don't let your guard down. The legged ship and Strike aren't like these pilots we've been fighting and ever that Mobius Zero fighter isn't an easy target."

"Plus there's that Hope unit that injured Yzak. We can't exactly afford to throw ourselves at it blindly."

"Speaking of the Hope it looks like that G weapon is that one that took out DINN." Dearka said before aiming his energy rifle at the Hope.

"Since no one else wants to fight it I guess I'll be the one to take it out."

"No I'll be the one to engage it." Rue La Cruset said.

"Are you sure sir?" Nicol asked unsure if what Rue was about to do was a good idea.

While their commander was a superior pilot, one who stood even above the four Zaft reds in terms of skill. Regardless of that the fact remained Rue La Cruset was only piloting a modified DINN.

"Of course I'm rather curious to test Eric Raglan's skill personally." Rue answered before making a beeline for the Hope.

"I guess that we're left with the legged ship and the rest of the advance unit." Dearka said.

"No the Vesalius can handle the rest of the advance unit let's just focus on the legged ship." Athrun said.

"If you say so."

"I'll stay back and support the DINNs, they may be superior to mobile armors but they're still outnumbered."

"Good idea." Athrun said before Dearka followed up with his own comment on Nicol's decision.

"It sounds like an excuse to avoid fighting the other to G weapons."

Athrun then turned his attention to the Strike seeing another chance to capture it. Since Kira didn't seem want to come to his senses Athrun decided he'd take Kira by force and with the Hope preoccupied by his commander now would the perfect opportunity without Eric interfering.

XXXXX

Eric was about to provide aid to the Montgomery. While he really didn't care much for their well being since were EA members and from what he heard in the past George Allster sounded like a typical sympathizer of the Organization known as Blue Cosmos making him someone Eric would personally prefer dead.

The Organization was a group of Natural extremist who wanted above all else to rid the world of Coordinators.

To say Eric hated them was putting it lightly. In his eyes Blue Cosmos (and the Earth Alliance) was the symbolization of everything wrong with the world.

As such Eric didn't really have any desire save the Montgomery but by the end of the day saving meant more allies to shield his family and friends until they got back to Orb.

Unfortunately his would be rescue attempt was impeded when one of the remaining DINNs charged at him with a Violet colored beam saber in hand and swung the weapon down vertically.

Eric was forced to quickly draw his own beam saber before blocked the attack and locking blades. Much to Eric's surprise however he soon found himself being hailed over the radio by the enemy DINN.

Against his better judgment Eric patched his opponent through and was greet by an image of a man wearing a mask that covered his eyes and a malicious smiled that pretty gave off a vibe of pure evil.

"So you're Eric Raglan, I must say I've actually been looking forward to this quite a bit."

"I'm guessing the pilot of the Aegis told you who I am?"

"Correct as well as your machine's real name. The Hope was it? Where exactly did you get that machine? Our team never found it at the Morgenroete facility.

Eric pushed his opponent back and charge him swinging his beam saber only for the Rue to parry the attack before raising and firing his beam rifle which Eric blocked with his shield.

"Believe or not right next door to the to the facility where the original five were stored."

Eric fired the Hopes twin cannons only for Rue La Cruset to drive under the crimson beams before charging at Eric and making repeated swings with his saber at the Hope.

Eric was able to block all the blows but soon Rue took aim with his Rifle and fired forcing Eric to use his shield again but unlike the previous time Rue followed up with a kick to the Hope's chest sending it backward before flying after it and attempting to impale to the Hope through the cockpit.

Eric narrowly avoid to would be death blow by flying to the side to avoid it.

From the looks of things Rue was probably a superior pilot in the Zaft forces. Anything he lacked due to the mobile he was piloting he made up for in skill. He was certainly proving to be a better pilot than the Duel's pilot.

Eric fired the shield mounted Gatling gun and pelted the DINN forcing Rue to pull back to avoid taking too much damage.

Charging the DINN Eric attempted an overhead swing which Rue parried before following up with a blast from the Hope's shoulder cannons.

The DINN responded to trying to rise above the blast but lost both legs before taking aim with his beam rifle whist Eric to the same with Gatling.

Rue pulled back continuously whilst firing repeatedly while Eric gave chase firing his Gatling. This continued until Eric decided to fire the twin cannons which Rue avoided by diving before charging at the Hope with his beam saber and attempting a horizontal swing which Eric blocked with his own beam saber.

"I see. Still I'm curious of one more factor." Rue said before braking the deadlock via rising before firing his rifle.

All the shots were blocked with the Hope's shield before Eric returned fire with the twin shoulder cannons.

Rue avoided the blast by flying to the side but was immediately charged by Eric who had the Hope's beam saber at the ready and locked blades with Rue.

"Who are you truly? There's no existing records of you before being adopted by the Raglan family so just who are you?"

"That secrete..." Eric raised the Hope's other arm and aimed the Gatling gun at the DINN's head.

"Stays with me." Eric fired the Gatling taking out the DINN eye sense whilst Rue retaliated by plunging the head of his beam rifle into the Hope's shoulder joint beneath the guard and fired.

The DINN then broke off and retreated. 'Eric Raglan. The boy seems different from other Naturals if my underestimation of his fighting abilities are anything to go by and that machine of his is certainly no pushover, like the Strike and prototypes our forces stole it's far superior to any type of mass produced unit our forces have. Now I'm even more curious about him, he'll no doubt be quite the wild card in this war.'

Eric attempted to take aim with the Gatling only to find out the arm it was mounted on was disabled.

"Until next time Eric." The Pilot of the DINN said before taking off.

With his opponent gone Eric looked around to survey the rest of the battle field.

"Dammit." looking at the advance unit Eric instantly knew what the conclusion was going to be.

The last of the advance unit's mobile armor pilots were being mopped up by the remaining three DINN and the Blitz. On top of the the Montgomery ship was damaged in multiple places and under fire from the Vesalius and would be destroyed.

Looking over at Mu's fight Eric saw the Mobius Zero was holding it's own against the Buster surprisingly well granted it was receiving aid from the Archangel but is was still impressive considering most mobile armors can't even last a full minute against even a GINN.

Finally switching his attention to the only mobile suit pilot on the same side as him. Eric soon saw Kira was on the losing side of his fight with the Aegis of all things.

Glancing at the PC monitor in his cockpit he soon viewed i display of the Hope's current condition which showed that its' arm was indeed out of working and that the twin shoulder cannons only had one more shot left.

It didn't help matters that the battery was only at seventeen percent.

'It looks like fighting that DINN took a lot more out of the Hopes than I thought. It looks my beam saber is what I'll have to work with.'

XXXXX

"Athrun move!" Kira demanded as his Beam rifle at the Aegis which weaved through all the fire and charged at Kira what producing four beam sabers on its forearms and feet.

"Kira you have to stop fighting along side the EA."

Athrun swung one of the beam sabers on the Aegis' forearms down forcing Kira to block the blow with his shield.

"I told you already I can't let everyone on the ship die! No stop getting in the way I have to save the Montgomery." Kira said.

"I'm sorry Kira but it's part of our mission to destroy it now."

Athrun swung one of the leg sabers forcing Kira to pull back only for Athrun to give chase.

"I won't let you do this!" Kira yelled while trying to take aim only Athrun to close the gap between them to quickly and once again forced Kira to use his shield.

Since it looked like the use of mid range weaponry was useless Kira tossed the beam rifle aside and switched to the beam saber before charging at the Aegis before locking blades one of its' and using the Strikes shield to bash it knocking it off balance before following a up with horizontal swing intended to behead the Aegis.

The idea was to knock Athrun out of the fight with killing him. While Kira had promised Flay he'd save her dad he still had no desire to fight Athrun let alone kill him.

If all the G weapons had the same general stricture then taking out the head and strip the Aegis of its mean camera and therefore knock Athrun out of the fight without killing him and still save the Montgomery.

Much to the Brunette's dismay however Athrun pulled back in time before changing to its grabber form and charging its Scylla cannon.

"Kira the people you're fighting for want to kill every last one of us." Athrun said before firing.

Kira brought up his shield to block the incoming blast. The moment the blast hit the Strike was thrown back a few meters but survived though its' shield was destroyed in the process.

Athrun swiftly charged Kira deactivated three of the four beam sabers for the sake of saving power.

Thanks to the fight with the Montgomery and the mobile armor pilots he was fighting previously and the fight with Kira he was currently engaged in he had used quite a bit of power over the entire course of the battle and now he only twenty eight percent of his battery power left.

"Kira if you're gonna keep insisting on fighting for the wrong side I don't have any other choice of to shoot you down." With that Athrun raised his beam saber with the intent on cutting the Strike in half.

"I'm sorry Kira."

Kira tried the bring his own beam saber up in time to block the attack but the Aegis was closing in too fast for him to react even as a Coordinator.

Suddenly the Aegis' side alarm went off and Athrun looked to the right to see the Hope coming him with its' own saber in hand.

Athrun quickly turned to the enemy machine and raised his blade to blocked the Hope's attack which resulted the a blade lock between the two Gundams.

"You again? Stop butting in!" Athrun demanded.

"I'm not letting anymore people I care about get hurt."

Eric's mind briefly flashed to the destruction of Heliopolis and when he saw Abram in a comatose state and he silently swore that he definitely protect everyone (aside from the official EA members) on the Archangel.

"Dammit get out of the way!" Athrun yelled pushing Eric back and shooting the Hope in the side of its chest with the Aegis' beam rifle.

"Stop!" Kira exclaimed before making a beeline for the Aegis while swinging his beam saber forcing Athrun to block the with his own beam saber.

"Kira I don't want to shoot you down but if you keep fighting for the EA I gonna have to."

"I can't go with you."

"Dammit Kira." Athrun then activated one of the sabers on the Aegis' feet and swung it upward forcing Kira to pull back before taking aim with his rifle.

Before he could pull the trigger however the Hope swooped down with beam saber in hand and cut through the Aegis' beam rifle.

"Why you!" Athrun exclaimed before activate the beam saber in the wrist of the Aegis' hand that previously held the beam rifle charged the Hope.

Eric block one of the blades with his own beam saber but Athrun raised the other to strike.

Since the Hope's other arm was currently in operable Eric couldn't make use of the shield so he was left with little choice but to use the twin cannons again.

Much to Eric's dismay however Athrun rose and pull back in time to avoid the blast.

"Dammit!" Eric exclaimed getting ready to charge the Aegis when his Gundams phase shift armor began deactivating.

Eric looking at the PC monitor in horror as it displayed displayed his worst fear and showed the battery power at two percent. 'Not now of all times!'

Athrun also noticed this and deactivated one of the beam sabers and extended the other saber outward and flew towards the Hope simply intending to impale it through the cockpit.

"Stop!" yelled Kira as he intercepted Athrun and used his own beam saber to lock blades with the Aegis.

"Kira get out of the way."

"No I'm bot letting you kill Eric!"

"He's an enemy of Zaft!" before increasing to power to the Aegis' thrusters to over power Kira and push him back.

Kira was about to charge Athrun again but was suddenly hit by the piercer lock of the Blitz.

Eric who had been watching this looked in the direction of the advance unit and saw the Montgomery was destroyed.

It didn't help matters that with the Blitz's interference and the remaining DINNs assisting the Bister against Mu and the Archangel there was no one protecting the now vulnerable Hope that Athrun still had his sights on.

"Your interferences end here." Athrun said readying himself to charge and impale the Hope through the cockpit.

However much to everyone's shock Natarle's voice sounded over the outer communication systems of the Archangel and spoke.

"Attention all Zaft vessels we have brought in a life pod recently containing the chairman of the Plants Segiel Clyne's daughter Lacus Clyne."

Eric's eyes went wide as he realized where this was hearing. 'You can't be serious!'

"We originally took her in for humanitarian reasons but if you continue your attack we'll have to assume you've abandoned her and from there take matters into our own hands."

Athrun turned and glared at the Hope before hailing it over the radio.

"Is this what you alliance stand for?"

* * *

 **Wow this is the longest chapter I've ever written since I started writing fanfiction.**

 **I hope I did a good job on the meeting with Eric and Lacus I actually kept changing my mind on the scene I decided to make it slightly fluffy for you guys and because the pairing is a major part of the story.**

 **Other look forward to the next chapter where major parts of Eric's back story are revealed and another major OC will take center stage.**

 **Next chapter: unveiling of a hidden major power.**

 **Ps to anyone who noticed that I ended chapter just as Athrun started talking to Eric about Lacus being used as a hostage and thinks finish the chapter. The rest of the conversation will be at the beginning of the next chapter.**


	8. Unvieling of a hidden super power

**Alright I meant to get this chapter out sooner but here it is**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own gundam seed**

* * *

"I'm not one of the EA's lapdogs." Eric said.

"Then why are you fighting on their side?" Athrun demanded

"For the same reason Kira is. To protect those I care about."

"And for that you'd use Lacus as a hostage!? She's not a threat to them, she'd never hurt anyone! So why do you have to drag her into this!"

"No I only brought her back to the ship to save her. I never meant for this to happen, she's my friend!"

"And yet she's being used as a shield by the side you're fighting on."

"By the Earth Alliance yeah but not by me."

"You just said you're the one who brought her on the legged ship."

"Yeah but what does that have to do with..." Eric stopped when he realized where Athrun was going with this.

"She's in this situation because of you. The reason the Earth Alliance forces are able to use her like this is because you provided them with the opportunity to do so when you brought her to them. If you were really her friend then you'd never have put her in such danger in the first place. How you can delude yourself into thinking that's saving her is seriously beyond me" Athrun all but yelled mentally stunning Eric in the process before continuing.

"But I promise you I'm definitely gonna rescue her."

With that Athrun began heading back to the Vesalius leaving Eric in a state of shock inside the in now dead (in terms of battery power) Hope shaking in anger at the EA's actions and frustration at himself since he couldn't really do anything at the moment for Lacus.

"Dammit why is Lacus being dragged into this?" Eric asked himself while banging his fist against the controls in frustration before being contacted of the radio by Kira.

"Eric do you have any power left at all."

"No, thanks to that last shot from my shoulder cannons I don't even have enough reserve power to make back to the ship."

"Alright I'll carry you back."

XXXXX

Inside a black and red CGUE Rooks watched from a far enough distance that neither the Archangel nor the Vesalius could detect him with their radars as the two ships in question went in separate directions.

'So it seems Zaft isn't fit to perform the task after all, still this could prove to be problematic for us.'

It was by this time Rooks was contacted on the Radio and a window displaying Barclay's masked face appeared.

"Sir Barclay it's good to see you've arrived."

"I came as swiftly as I was able but I'm still curious has Zaft managed to deal with our potential impediment?"

"No they came rather close to meeting that goal but the EA abandoned whatever sense of honer they had and used the Plant's little makeshift princess as a shield."

"I suppose that's not beyond what the Earth Alliance is willing to do their actions in the past."

"Sir if they use miss Clyne as a bargaining tool they could very well force the Plants into a full surrender. If that happened the war would be over and..."

"Everything we've strived for will be for nothing at least for the next few years." Barclay finished for him.

"Yes sir."

"I'd like to see how things play out first. Should the EA's ship decide to take miss Clyne with them to an Earth Alliance base we will launch a full scall attack on their ship and destroy it and in the case where they decide to return her well I believe the transfer may make the perfect stage for our debut. Plus we may finally be able to meet the unknown machine's pilot."

"If you insist."

"I'm not overlooking the scenario of the EA using Lacus as a hostage to end the war we'll be ready if they should try to leave with her in toe."

XXXXX

As Eric opened the hatch to the Hope's cockpit he was confronted with Ramius and Natarle standing in front of him.

"How much damage did the Hope take?" The latter demanded more so than asked.

"Its' right arm is inoperable."

"Be ready to return to the hanger at a moments notice. We may need you to reset the self detonation should it start up."

"Fine but tell me one thing."

Natarle remained silent having already decided on what her answer was going to be regardless of what Eric intended to ask.

"What do you guys plan to do with Lacus?"

"That doesn't concern a volunteer, how we handle foreign figureheads is our business now return to your assigned room until further notice."

Without a retort Eric turned to leave the hanger bay with Kira walking next to him.

"Eric are you OK Athrun didn't hurt you did he?" Kira asked.

"No I'm fine." Eric said which he was at least physically bit emotionally he was close to a wreck which Kira noticed before remembering that Eric had been spending a good deal of time with Lacus since she was brought on board and how she was currently being used as a make shift hostage.

"Eric if you're worried about Lacus you don't need to. I know they won't tell you what they're planning to do but..." Kira stopped unsure of what else to say.

"It's fine Kira. Besides I think I already have a pretty good idea of what they plan to do to her."

Natarle glared at Eric's retreating back angered by his venomous tone.

"Let it go Badgiruel. Raglan's already made it clear he doesn't have a high opinion of the Earth Alliance for some time." Ramius said.

"True but I'm really starting to wonder what our side has done to make him hate us so much. I know we didn't meet under the best circumstances but still..." Mu La Flaga said.

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself." Ramius replied.

XXXXX

Eric walked towards his room trying not to let the anger he felt get the best of him as the Aegis' pilot's last words repeated in his mind.

 _"She's in this situation because of you. The only reason the Earth Alliance forces are able to use her like this is because you provided them with the opportunity to do so when you brought her to them. If you were really her friend then you'd never have put her in danger in the first place."_

"Dammit I wasn't intending to get her used as a shield." Eric said slamming his fist against the halls window made of reinforced glass.

Eric could only wonder why things had to turn out like this. While he never meant for Lacus to be used as a hostage but he didn't even know she was the one in the life pod until after he brought back to the Archangel. Even if he had known what else could he have done. While it may have been true that bringing Lacus back to the ship may have invited the whole ordeal it was also less then likely that the enemy would have found her plus there was a third group trying to kill her, in simple terms had Eric not brought her back she'd have likely died alone in space so Eric really didn't have a choice if he wanted to ensure her survival at the time.

"Are you alright Eric?" A feminine voice asked shaking the teen boy put of his thoughts as turned to see the who's situation the Aegis' pilot was blaming him for.

"Oh Lacus sorry I was kind of caught up in what happened." Eric said hastily calming down.

"I see."

"Still I'm sorry the EA is using you as a..." Eric couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"It is OK. I had no wish to see any more people die so I won't begrudge the Crew for their decision."

Eric had to admit he was more than a little shocked by how accepting Lacus was of her situation.

"If you say so but..."

"What?"

"It's still wrong regardless of the fact you're the chairman's daughter the EA can't just take you hostage for their own convenience."

"Eric I appreciate your concern I truly do and while I am not fond of being used as a tool the way I currently am I also have no wish for everyone else to be scarified simply so I can be kept oblivious to danger. Weather they are part of the Crew or refugees the people on this ship still have lives of their own."

Eric opened his mouth to protest but no words came out. As worried as he was for Lacus she was right about the others on the ship having lives to.

Realizing his error he finally found words to say but they were different from what Eric originally intended.

"Sorry I wasn't meaning to overlook what could happen to everyone else I just..."

"It's quite alright." Lacus said cutting Eric off before continuing.

"I'm rather happy you care for me even if you only recently met me."

Eric scratched the back of his in slight embarrassment.

"Well we did officially become friends before the fighting started."

Lacus giggled a bit before replying. "Of course and speaking of which I was hoping you would tell me more about yourself."

The sense of frustration from before died down.

"OK I'll be happy to. What do you want to know about me?"

"Anything you're willing to tell me."

"Well to start I originally came from a family of four. Both parents and one sibling."

"Your older sister who was a Coordinator?"

"Yeah her name name was Bahar."

"What was she like?"

"Well pretty head strong and protective of me actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah back when I was little I was picked on a lot by naturals."

Lacus wore a look of surpise at this "Oh my. But aren't you a Natural yourself?"

"Yes but there are lot of people tended on being for lack of a better word dicks because they can't get over racial views and since messing with Behar didn't tend to end well for them they'd often try turn to the next best thing to target which in their minds was me simply for the fact that I was related to her."

"I'm sorry you had such a rough childhood."

Eric laughed in response to this confusing the pop singer.

"Don't worry it wasn't as bad as you're most likely thinking."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. While I'd be lying if I said it wasn't frustrating to deal with but the vast majority of it didn't last long because more often than not the wannabe bullies in question would end receiving beat downs from my sister which would put a stop to it in a snap."

"Well I don't know if I can support such violent measures but I'm glad to know you had such a loving sibling."

"Yeah due to both of my parents working a lot she was practically the one who brought me up."

"I must admit I'm a bit envious."

That caught Eric off guard. "Huh why? I'd imagine you had to have had a good life yourself. Certainly better than mine."

"Well I've certainly had my share of joy but contrary to what most would believe even I have personal problems I must deal with."

"I see. I didn't mean to make an insensitive assumption."

"It's fine but I'm also curious about your current family."

"Well after my sister and parents died nine years ago a was introduced to my current dad Abram and immediately adopted by him."

"So your original family passed away?"

"Yeah but that's another story." Eric said avoiding going into the details of the particular subject and continuing.

"After being adopted by the Raglan family I was living in the Colony of Heliopolis."

"What was your life like on Heliopolis?"

"During the time I lived there I had a little bit of an awkward time fitting in at first but eventually found friends including some of the ones on this ship."

"Oh."

"Even though my current family wasn't my blood one I was still grateful to have them after losing my first one."

"I'm glad you found people to fill in the void."

Eric laughed a bit before replying.

"I think that would the best way to describe it. As I said before I'm glad to have them which is why I was saying I should have been the only one in danger when my Dad was shot."

"I'm not sure how you should've been in danger at all. I know I said this before but you don't seem like the type of person who deserves to be put in any life threatening ordeal."

"It's not that I feel I deserve it I just...maybe I should explain everything everything from the beginning."

XXXXX

On board the Vesalius Rue La Cruset stared out one of the hallway windows as he recalled the fight he had with the Hope Gundam.

He'd undoubtedly be lying if he said that he didn't want to meet that pilot again. The power of their machine was nothing to laugh at and their piloting skills while a bit rough around the edges definitely had potential even if the pilot was a Natural. With the right kind of training and experience the boy known as Eric Raglan could undoubtedly become a refined and deadly pilot. Perhaps one that would easily surpass any level the Zaft reds under Rue's command could hope to reach.

"It seems I was right. That machine and it's Pilot will prove to be quite interesting assets to the war. It's becoming difficult to believe Eric Raglan is just an ordinary Natural."

The door at the end of the of hall Rue La Cruset was in opened revealing the pilot of the Aegis.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes I wanted to hear your opinion on the enigmatic model."

Athrun inwardly scowled at the meer mention of the Hope. While his personal feelings were pretty much neutral towards the machine he was beginning to develop a disdain for its' pilot.

"The Hope itself seems to generally in the same league as the original five G weapons but beyond that it appears to have no real specialty in the field."

Rue took a few silent moments to ponder Athrun's statement and realized he was right.

It didn't have the stealth capabilities of the Blitz, nor the long distance of the Buster, the mobile armor or melee speciality of the Aegis, or even the ability to equip extra gear via packs like the Strike which granted it extreme versatility.

Overall it seemed to have a simply design much like the Duel. But something seemed odd about that. Why would the Hope be given such a plain design. The only reason the Duel had a simple design was because it was the very first of the original five to be made.

While that may have been the case with the Hope for some reason Rue couldn't really determine he doubted it.

"Then it would seem we've reached the same general assessment. But that's not the only reason I've called you here. I also would like to know how your feeling."

"I'm worried at the moment."

"Ms Clyne I take it?"

Athrun nodded.

"It's understandable since she's your fiance after all."

Athrun resisted the urge to groan. While he cared a great deal for Lacus and had a close relationship with her the truth was he couldn't truly see her as more than a close friend or surrogate sibling and he was more than certain the Lacus saw him the same way. He couldn't blame her however considering their engagement was arranged by their father's at the insistence of Athrun's.

Still he was genuinely worried worried about her and Lacus' being used as shield really made him begin to laoth the EA and more so to the point the Hope's pilot.

After the Pilot of the Aegis nodded silently Rue continued.

"Don't let yourself get to worked up. We'll rescue her."

"Thank you sir." With that Athrun left silently swearing to make Eric pay for Lacus' ordeal."

XXXXX

Back in the hallway of the Archangel Eric had just finished telling Lacus everything that had happened since Heliopolis.

"You've truly been through a great deal of endeavors in a short amount of time." Said Lacus before her expression suddenly become much more stern.

"However you should not have taken that vice Admiral's life in the name of revenge."

"But after everything he tried to do and shooting my dad..."

Lacus cut him off.

"I'm aware what he did wasn't forgivable however you must not allow yourself to be consumed by hatred. If you allow such an emotion overtake your heart you'll head down a path that won't show you any reward just more pain."

Lacus' expression softened a bit.

"And besides that I don't wish to see you lose the part of yourself that makes you such a kind person. So please don't hatred consume you."

"Ok I promise I won't."

"And remember the reason Mr Abram intervened was because he cares for you as much as you do him and he didn't want to let Garcia do what he wished with you."

"I will."

"Thank you." With that Lacus once again wore a cheerful smile.

"So if it's ok to ask what was your life like growing up?" Eric ask.

Lacus giggled a bit before assuring Eric his question was fine and began telling her tail.

Meanwhile at the end of the hall they in three teens were observing them from behind the door way leading into the said hall.

"Man I know you said Eric was a fan of Lacus but I didn't think he'd make a move this fast." Tolle said to Callahan.

"I think you're exaggerating a bit. Eric only just met and so far he's only getting to know her." Mirriallia replied.

"Maybe but he's already trying to earn points with Lacus. I gotta say he's hitting it off with her faster than I thought he would." Said Callahan.

"Oh please probably anything Eric says to Lacus is going to translating as trying to flirt with her in your mind." Mirriallia replied.

The reason the three teens were there at all was to leave Flay and Sai alone. After Kira got back Flay went off on him for failing to protect her dad and accused him (and Eric indirectly) of intentionally letting her dad die due to being a Coordinator hurting the Brunette's feelings and driving him off.

The three teens didn't want to witness anymore of the scene and decided to leave and on their way back to their respective rooms stumbled across Eric and Lacus.

"Whatever you say." Replied Callahan before continuing.

"But in all seriousness I've gotta admit even I'm surprised at this. While I knew Eric was a fan of Lacus and her music. But I didn't think Eric would open up this easily to her."

"Yeah now that I think about I don't remember Eric ever talking to any us about his past."

"I guess that just means he's more comfortable around Lacus." Tolle said

"I hope he's not just acting on some infatuation over Lacus being a celebrity." Mirriallia said.

"No I think it's safe to say he would honestly want that pink princess as a girlfriend." Another voice said causing everyone to turn around and see Mu La Flaga.

"How long have you been there?" Callahan asked.

"Just a minute or two I was on my way to the hanger bay to work do a little work on the Mobius Zero when I stumbled across you guys and I was wondering what you were all watching. I gotta say Eric has his aims set high.

"You can say that again." Callahan said.

Meanwhile as Eric listened to Lacus gave an overview of her life story he had finally came to a decision about what needed to be done.

XXXXX

Back on the bridge Ramius sat in the captain's seat staring out the front windows in shame.

'Are we really so weak we have to resort to using hostages who aren't even soldiers?' She wondered bitterly.

It was not particularly a secrete that she didn't like the decision made to use Lacus Clyne as a hostage in fact she was so hesitant in going through with the said decision that Natarle was the one who actually acted and made the choice for her.

Still while Badgiruel action's weren't exactly ideal in terms of morality they did save the crew a d refugees from certain death.

Regardless Murrue still had to wonder if what the crew was doing was right.

While she may have agreed to help with the construction of the g weapons in any way she was able during the time they in the process of being built because she was hoping to help bring the war to an end and restore peace between Earth and the Plants through ideal means.

However it seemed like since the G weapons were completed she had been forced to do things that were more or less despicable by humanitarian stanards such as taking a bunch of kids at gun point even though they weren't the enemy or done anything wrong, allowing all the Artimes personnel to be killed by Zaft even though they were simply following Garcia's orders, looting the remains of Junius seven even knowing it could easily be considered the equivalent to sacrilege, and now dragging a girl who didn't really have anything to do with the war simply because she was considered a figurehead in the eyes of the EA and the chairman of the Plants' daughter.

"Ms Ramius I suggest we leave for the eighth fleet and take Ms Clyne with us." Badgiruel said snapping Murrue out of her thoughts.

Outrage had filled her mind for moment before realizing Natarle was simply looking at things from a pragmatic point of view.

What the lieutenant was suggesting was optimal for the well being of the Crew and the sake of the overall war but...

"We can't do that Badgiruel."

"lieutenant Ms Clyne is a major figurhead to the Plants and the chairman's daughter. She makes the perfect bargaining chip for br..."

"We're not dragging a civilian into this!" Murrue all but screamed silencing Natarle before regaining her composure and sighing.

"Let's just get some rest for now and have newman oversee the bridge in the meantime." Ramius said before heading off to her room with Natarle following behind though a bit reluctantly.

XXXXX

Around an hour later after getting to know him Lacus was left in Eric's alone with the two Haro bots. After they Eric told her he was going to get something to make things right and to wait for him to return.

While Lacus complied with his request and appreciated the thought she didn't think Eric needed to go out of his way just for her.

The simple fact that he had saved her from certain death by an unknown group was more than enough for Lacus from her own point of view. Still that kind side of him was something she really liked about him along with the fact that he cared a great deal for those close to him.

At the same time she was worried. When Eric mentioned how he killed Garcia in an act of vengence it reminded of the possibility that this war could fill him with hate to be consumed by. That was something she truly hoped would never happen. Eric had a good heart and Lacus didn't want to see him lose that part of himself because of the tragedies the war has caused.

Suddenely the door to the room opened revealing Eric holding two space suits. Who enter the room and grabbed a thumb drive off the desk before turning to Lacus.

"I know this is sudden but please put this on." Eric requested as he handed her one of the suits.

XXXXX

"Eric where are we going?" Lacus now wearing a space suit with her skirt bunched up in the mid section of it making it look like she was pregnant and holding her pink Harobot in her arms asked as she followed Eric through the halls of the Archangel.

"To the hanger bay to bring you bring back to Zaft."

"But Eric you don't need to do such a thing."

"I know you don't want everyone on this ship to die just so you can live but I promise nothing will happen to them, the reason I'm piloting the Hope Gundam is to make sure the refugees get to Orb safely so they can rebuild their lives. So please come with me."

"If you keep your word that those on this ship will be safe I will come."

"I will."

After continuing through the halls for a few minutes and heading towards the hanger bay a voice suddenly called out.

"Eric where are you-wait why is Lacus with you?"

The two teens turned around to see Mirriallia who had spoken along with Tolle and Sai.

After a few silent seconds Tolle spoke up.

"Man Eric I heard you were a big fan of Lacus from Callahan but I didn't think you'd put the bun in the oven that fast."

Eric was confused at first but then he remembered how Lacus' skirt was bunched up in the suit's midsection and found himself having to fight off embarrassment.

"That's just her dress."

"I wonder what Callahan is gonna think of this."

"I'd actually prefer it if you or anyone else here didn't say a word about this to him."

"If you're actually doing what I'm starting to think you are he's going to find out."

"I'm meant about the makeshift appearance Lacus' dress is giving off under the suit. Seriously Callahan would never let me hear the end it. I can almost hear the line of jokes he'd make."

Lacus giggled at this before Mirriallia replied.

"Since you're both in space suits I'm guessing there's only one reason now that I've thought about it more. But are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah. I know why Badgiruel the others are using her like this but regardless of Lacus' occociation with the Plants this isn't right and besides she's not even our enemy."

"I see your point so I guess I'll help out." Tolle said.

"Well if Tolle wants to then so will I."

Sai faced Eric silently at first before speaking.

"I'm worried about what'll happen after we let her go but as you said we shouldn't be using Lacus as a hostage."

Eric smiled. "Thank you."

XXXXX

Loading the Hope onto the Catapult Eric glaced at the digital schematics of the Hope.

'It looks Murdoch at least got the arm to an operable state again but a good portion of damage is still there.'

Lacus who was laying across Eric's lap in a bridal style position spoke up.

"Do you intend to board to Vesalius?"

"No Mirriallia's going to send out a message to the Zaft fleet to have the pilot of the Aegis meet up with us. When I last spoke to him over the radio he sounded like someone who really cared for you. I remember my friend Kira calling him Athrun."

"Athrun?!" Lacus asked in a surprised manner.

"You know him?"

"Why yes. He's a close friend from my child hood as well as... The man I will one day marry." Lacus looked away from Eric after finishing her sentence.

"...I see." that was all Eric could bring himself to say.

He wasn't sure why but hearing Lacus confess that particular piece of information made an unusual type of pain take root in his chest. Still whatever the reason for the pain was it was something Eric had to push out of his mind the best he could for the moment since he still had to use what was most likely his one window of opportunity to get Lacus back to the Plant's and out of the Earth Alliance's hands.

"I have a single unit heading towards the meeting point we've requested." Sai said over the radio.

"Alright let's have Tolle open the hatch."

"Already on it." Tolle announced before Mirriallia spoke.

"Get ready to launch."

"Right." Eric replied before one of the personnel doors opened revealing Murdoch who's eyes became as wide as saucers as soon as he laid eyes on the hope being loaded onto the catapult and yelled out.

"What do you think you're doing?! You haven't been cleared for launch!"

To Murdoch's relief he got an immediate response but relief was replaced by shock when he discovered what it was.

"I know I've decided to I'm going to give Lacus back to Zaft."

"Are you out of your mind?! What"s going to stop those other G weapons from shooting our ship down?"

"I will when the time comes."

"With a weapon that has incomplete repairs?"

"If I have to."

"You've completely lost it!"

"Maybe but I'm still going to give Lacus back."

"Kid you really need to think about what you're doing!"

Eric didn't bother with a reply as the hatch to the Archangel's leg opened.

"Eric Raglan, Hope launching."

"Don't!" Murdoch screamed out to the top of his lungs as the Hope was flung forward and out of the ship's leg."

"Dammit." Murdoch cursed before hitting an alarm button on the wall next to him causing every siren light and alarm on the ship to go off waking up everyone on the ship.

"Seriously what is with that kid is he trying to get everyone killed?" Murdoch asked himself.

XXXXX

"Eric you'd best hurry with all these alarms going off Ms Ramius is going to be here in a few minutes if not seconds."

"Got it." Eric said before he flew out of the Archangel's radar range.

Shifting his gaze to the only other occupant in the Hope's cockpit Eric spoke.

"Just hang on for a little bit we'll be meeting with Athrun soon."

"Please do not worry I'm fine." Lacus replied.

XXXXX

"Please let Lacus be alright." Athrun muttered to himself.

When Rue La Cruset first informed him about the message from the Hope's pilot claiming he intended to return Lacus Athrun was initially skeptical but his commander pointed out that this may have been their only window of opportunity for rescuing Lacus.

Being made aware of that Athrun agreed that the risk had to be taken.

Athrun really hoped that Lacus was unharmed but there was no way to confirm the state of her well being until he saw her for himself.

If the Hope's pilot Eric Raglan had truly intended to give her back and Lacus was unharmed Athrun would at the very least see some good in the enemy pilot and if not Athrun intended to make him pay.

Soon the Aegis' radar soon picked up a single enemy unit and to Athrun's moderate relief it was indeed the Hope.

'Let's see if this guy keeps his word.'

Just outside of the Aegis' detection range at a much higher altitude was the customized and repaired DINN belonging to Rue La Cruset.

While Eric bore no personal significance to his personal agenda like Mu La Flaga or Kira Yamato did the boy had more than caught the commander of the Vesalius' interest with all the enigmatic circumstances surrounding him.

Rue found himself wanting to learn more about just who Eric Raglan was and he figured another personal duel with the boy may provide him the opportunity to do so.

XXXXX

"I knew that kid was head over heels for that pink princess but I didn't think he'd decide to play knight in shinning armor." Mu La Flaga said to himself inside the Mobius Zero which was getting ready to launch and find the Hope along with Eric and Lacus.

Mu's comment wasn't meant to be heard by anyone but he forgot that his radio was set on an open channel so his statement was broadcasted to everyone on the bridge.

"Lieutenant La Flaga this is no time for jokes what Raglan has done is an act of betrayel to the Earth Alliance." Came the somewhat angry reply from Natarle.

It wasn't exactly a secrete that Natarle was downright pissed about Eric's actions especailly since upon finding out she swore she'd have Eric thrown in brig and then incarcerated permanently insuring he wasn't allowed to see the light of day or the vacuum of space ever again.

As threatening as that sounded however Mu doubted Natarle would actually go through with it if she were able to since the ship needed Eric to pilot the Hope.

"Not necessarily. The kid's a volunteer, that's not the same as being an actual solider so his actions can't really be considered betrayal since officially he was never established as someone who was loyal to begin with."

"Just bring him back." Ramius said.

"Will do."

Mu then turned his attention to Kira who was in the Strike preping for launch.

"You ready to head out Kira?"

"Ye-yeah."

"You can be at ease we're not planning to fight anyone from Zaft this time."

"Right."

"Alright Mu La Flaga Mobius Zero launching."

With that the Mobile Armor was flung forward.

Kira simply faced forward and sighed hoping this would go smoothly.

He had a feeling that Eric wouldn't comeback willingly until he delivered Lacus back to Zaft. Kira could only pray that Eric would have already succeeded by the time he and Mu caught up. He had no desire for any type of confrontation with Eric or in an unlikely scenario a fight.

It didn't help matters that Eric may very well be meeting up with Athrun and Kira also feared the scenario where the two would kill each other.

XXXXX

On board a Nasca class ship an unusual mobile Suit with an almost ominous single white eye sensor stood on the catapult of the ship as its armor shifted to a dark blue color.

"Sir are you ready to launch?" A voice asked the Pilot over the radio.

"Of course."

"We're opening the hatch."

The face of Rooks appeared on the monitor of the machine's cockpit.

"It looks like the stage is set me and the other teams are ready to join you a moment's notice."

"Good I'd like you and the others to ensure there are no unwelcome interuptions."

"So you want to fight the Hope's pilot yourself I take it?"

"Precisely."

"Very well we'll be sure you're provided a proper battle field."

"Thank you."

With that the pilot faced forward.

"Abner Barclay, fulfillment launching." With that the mobile suit was flung forward.

XXXXX

The Aegis and Hope floated in front of each other at a silent but intense stand off until Athrun spoke.

"I came alone like you requested so give Lacus back now." the bluenette demanded.

"Athrun you shouldn't act so rude." Lacus said.

"Lacus? So it really is you!"

"Yes I'm here alive and well."

"Good. I'm glad to know your OK."

"I'm happy to see you to."

It was then that Eric opened the hatch before speaking for the first time.

"You can take Lacus back with you."

Athrun's attention was then turned to Eric.

"While I'm grateful to you for bringing Lacus back what you're doing begs the question of why."

"Simple because she's my friend. If that's all you want to know I'd like to hurry this up the others could show up any minute."

"You're doing this without your Superior's permission?"

"Pretty much." Eric answer before turning his gaze to Lacus.

"I hope to meet you again."

"As do I."

Without any further words Lacus got out of Eric's lap and exited the Hope and began slowly making her way to the Aegis.

The Aegis's hatch opened revealing it's pilot. Eric would have attempted to get a good look at him but the darkness of space would prevent that.

'Goodbye Lacus.' Eric thought as an odd pain had taken hold of his chest. Closing the hatch to the Hope Eric was about to turn around and head back to the Archangel when another familiar voice over the radio.

"So you actually went through with the transfer. Well now we can continue where we left off.

Lacus stopped her advance towards the Aegis and turned around in time to see the Hope pull back narrowly avoiding a beam blast aimed right for it.

"Eric looked up to the DINN he fought off before."

'Dammit doesn't this guy realize Lacus could get caught up in this?!'

"I must say I've actually been looking forward to this. It's the first time I've found an enemy of interest other then La Flaga."

The DINN then pulled out a beam saber made a beeline for the Hope which drew its own beam saber to block the overhead attack that Rue had readied.

When the two mobile suits clashed blades Eric attempted to raise the Hopes other arm and fire the Gatling gun only for Rue La Cruset to grab a a hold of the Hope's wrist with his Dinn's free hand.

"Nice try but I don't intend on leaving you with any blatant openings this time." with that Rue brought up the Dinn's knee and knocked Eric back letting go of the Hope's wrist in the process.

Making another beeline for his opponent Rue attempt a horizontal slash.

This time Eric blocked the attack with his shield. Unfortunately as soon the Dinn's blade made contact with his shield an Alarm went off causing Eric to look at the PC monitor which showed the Hope's shoulder section flashing red.

'I should have figured as much. Murdoch got the arm moving again but as it is right now it can endure heavy impacts or strain.'

Eric swung his own beam saber in retaliation forcing the Dinn to pull back.

"Stop, I didn't came here to fight you!"

Rue smirked. "Perhaps but I came here with every intention of fighting you!" With that Rue readied himself to charge the Hope once more before an alarm went off alerting him to an incoming attack.

Rue barely manage to climb fast enough to avoid a beam shot from a fast approaching Mobius Zero along with the Strike. Not far behind the two units was the Archangel.

Rue merely smiled at this. "So all the major peices have gathered in one place."

Rue La cruset prepared send out an attack order to the Vesalius when Lacus who was floating just outside the Aegis spoke over the Gundam's radio on an open channel for everyone present to hear.

"Rue La Cruset I would suggest that you stop this now. Or do you intend to turn this place into a battle field in the presence of the chairman's daughter?"

Rue scowled, as much as he hated to admit it he had no choice but to cave in to Lacus' demand. Though three people were present that Rue desired to cross blades with, two of which he dreamed of personally killing throughout most of his lifetime it would mean nothing if he couldn't carry put the rest of his personal goal.

Mu smiled inside the Mobius Zero. "It looks like that pink princess' got more spunk than I thought especially after what that Allster girl tried to pull on the bridge."

Rue was about to reply to Lacus but was beaten to the punch when another completely new and unknown voice spoke over the radio.

"Perhaps he doesn't but I intended to use this as a stage for battle from the beginning.

XXXXX

"We have around over twenty enemies mobile suits heading for us from all directions!" Directions Sai yelled out bordering on going into a full blown panic.

Murrue tensed up momentarily.

"Ready the AA guns to hold off the attacking Mobile suits and set a course to link up with La Flaga, Yamato and Raglan so we can begin our retreat."

Suddenly the Archangel was hailed on the radio which Mirriallia easily take notice have.

"Ms Ramius one of the enemies is trying to contact us."

Before Murrue could issue an order to decide weather to patch them through or not the decision was made for her when the individual trying to contact with the ship broke through its fire walls and a window displaying their face appeared.

"So this is the crew of the EA's new ship? You guys must have only survived thanks to the power of the mobile suits you have with you."

"Who are you? Identify yourself." Ramius demanded.

"Rooks, beyond that the only thing you need to know is that you're not going to allowed to interfere."

"With what?"

"A personal duel my commander desires with the machine his former colleague who used the name Shirou built."

A part of Murrue's mind began to wonder just who this Shirou was but thanks to the current situation of the entire Crew she had to put the mental inquiry aside for the moment.

Turning her gaze to those on the bridge of the Archangel she spoke.

"Our plans remained unchanged use to AA guns to hold the enemy mobile suits at bay and link up with the G weapons and Mobius Zero."

Sai suddenly spoke by this time. "A single enemy unit is heading right for the Hope...it's moving at five times the speed of any other unit on the field...holy shit."

If not for the bleak predicament everyone was in Murrue probably would have reprimanded Sai for his choice of language but as things stood she needed to focus on the safety of everyine on the Archangel as well as the three out in the field.

"Fire the Lohengrin cannons at the unit heading towards the Hope."

Rooks laughed at the declaration before speaking. "Sorry to disappoint but I did just make it clear you won't be interfering."

Moments after Rooks finished his sentence everyone onboard the Archangel felt the ship shake from two hard impacts.

"Both Lohengrin cannons are offline!" Eclaimed a Crew member before being followed up by Sai.

"More enemy units have shown up. They're heading towards the Hope."

"Have Mu and Kira link up with Eric and come back to the Archangel."

"On it!" Callahan exclaimed now scares for his foster brother and friend.

XXXXX

Kira found himself confused and alarmed at the same time. He was wondering why these new mobile suits showed up but also alert since one of the pilots of their group implying they wanted a fight.

While this was happening the Archanngel had come under attack by more of the unkown units.

Kira was about to head back to the Archangel and defend in a moment of desperation before he was hailed by Callahan.

"Kira ms Ramious wants you and Mu to get Eric and get back here as fast as you can."

"Alright." Kira turned his attention to Mu.

"I heard him over the radio, you should focus on getting to Eric. I'll try and hold these CGUEs."

"By yourself?" Kira asked.

"Pretty much I'm known as the hawk of Endymion for my skill with a mobile armor."

Kira simply turned towards the Hope and began accelerating towards it at the top speed the Strike was capable of reaching wanting to reach Eric as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for the teen Coordinator that hope was dashed when six CGUE's got into a position ahead and at a higher altitude then Kira and split onto two vertical rows of three to the left and right of him and shot their beam rifle's at the exact same time diagonally downward and precise angles that they crisscrossed with each other forming a momentarily makeshift net on Kira's path forcing him to come to a quick and barely controlled stop.

Seconds later two more beams came up behind Kira and struck one of the Strike's thrusters.

Mu who was watching from a distance as he came around for an assault on one of the CGUEs his separated gun barrels were not keeping at bay became wide eyed.

'That precision there's no way this is a typical pirate group!'

That may have been putting it lightly as far as Mu was concerned. Throughout the war with Zaft he had seen many fights and clashed with many skilled teams but even a military made up of coodinators could never produce a team with as much skill and precision as the ones that shot out the Strike's thruster.

Their skills seemed to surpass any Natural's or Coordinators. It may have been accurate to say they possessed skills that were in a sense inhuman.

Soon the six mobile suits flow down to Kira's altitude and formes a horizontal line in front of him before leveling their weapons on him simultaniously.

"Get out the way!" Kira exclaimed only for the mobile suits to taciturnly stay in place.

Growing frustrated Kira aimed his own beam rifle at one of the units only for all of them to shift their weapon to his weapon and fire in perfect sync.

All six beams converged right to the same point, at the exact moment they hit the+q+ beam rifle they obliterated it and creating an explosion that threw the Strike to the side.

Another new voice belonging to what was most likely a boy around Eric and Kira's age spoke over the radio channels.

"I'm pretty damn sure Rooks made it clear that you're not to but in our commander's soon to be fight."

Kira and Mu looked to see another CGUE off in the distance.

"Who are you?"

"Grayson Landry, that's all you need to know."

At that moment the alarm went off in the mobius Zero causing Mu to look at a digital diagram displaying the state of his machine and showing him that two of the four seperate gun barrels were destroyed.

"What the..." Mu was cut off by a hard impact to the back of his mobile armor. Soon after the Mobius Zero quickly decelerated to till it was merely drifting in the vastness of space.

Mu tried to reengage his thruster but immediately found himself unable to before it dawned on him what the hard impact he felt was.

"Don't tell me...!"

Grayson cut him off. "My allies took out your thrusters and without the ability to maneuver around the battle field you're just a stationary target so I'd advise you to recall your two remaining gun barrels and sit tight less you want to be shot down.

As much as Mu La Flaga hated to admit it he was in such a bind that no choice but to comply with Grayson's demand.

After having the two remaining gun barrels come back Mu grunted in frustration and looked towards the Archangel only to be greeted by a shocking sight.

The ship was still intact but essentailly disabled for the majority part. Every single turret and cannon had been taken out by enemy unit and both of the end thrusters underneath the Archangel's main belly were shot out meaning the ship couldn't travel at very high speeds and its' maneuverability was severely reduced.

To make matters worse five units all floated in front of the ship with the rifles aimed directly at the bridge ready to fire at a moment's notice. In short the Strike Gundam, Mobius Zero, and Archangel were all basically being held at gun point by this unknown group and from the looks of it Rue La Cruset and the Aegis' pilot were in similar positions with the only difference being that their machines weren't damaged.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

XXXXX

Eric watched in shock as the Mu, Kira, the two Zaft mobile suits, and the Archangel were all attacked simultaneously unsure of who to help all the while multiple enemies surrounded him from all sides by stopped at a certain distance and merely observed him almost like they were forming a makeshift ring around him.

His anxiety only worsened when his allies were all disabled. Putting power into the Hope's thrusters Eric attempted to make a beeline in his allies general direction until a group of enemy unit fired their weapons in select directions causing their shots to form another makeshift beam net and cut off Eric flight path.

"Get out of my way!" Eric yelled.

"Sorry but that's not gonna happen." Grayson said.

"I know you guys aren't happy about me returning Lacus to the Zaft forces but if you want revenge the only person you should point your weapons at is me."

Grayson laughed at this.

"This isn't about revenge. Our boss just wants your allies and the Zaft forces out of the way so he can duel you personally."

"What?"

Just then Eric was hailed on the radio by the Archangel before Mirrillia's face appeared in the PC monitor and judging by her panicked expression it was obvious she wasn't contacting Eric to give him any good or relieving news.

"Eric there's an extremely fast unit headed right for you!" she practically screamed.

"What?" Eric had no time to speak further as the alarms in his cockpit went off causing him to turn into the direction of an extremely abnormal mobile suit.

In was mainly dark blue in color with an almost dome like head with a thin protrusion coming out of the top of its forehead and a single white eye sensor behin shaped visor. Its arms and legs were mostly round with the latter of the limbs having extra plates on the outer sides of their lower legs. The shoulder were plain of sphere shaped. The area of the mobile suit's chest was dark grey with two small white vents on either side and the middle area protruded outward slightly in a diamond like shape with the bottom part being longer than the top. Two wings extending outward each with a triple set of thrusters.

In its right hand was an amber colored one handed beam Axe which the machine itself held out and at the ready.

The speed of the enemy unit was unreal for even the Gundams. Eric barely had any time to bring his beam saber to block the attack. The moment the blades collided Eric's machine was thrown back.

The sheer power behind the enemy machine was nothing the scoff at anymore than its speed.

"It seems you have adequate reaction speed." said the pilot.

"Who are you?!" Eric asked as the enemy machine closed in on him again and swing its beam Axe at him causing to try and parry the blow only to be thrown back from sheer amount the force behind enemy unit's blow again the moment the blades made contact.

Eric grunted as he struggled to maintain his machine's balance during the time it continued its course backwards until it stopped.

"Abner Barclay, pilot of the fulfilment, and leader of high judgment."

Eric fired the twin shoulder cannons but Barclay easily maneuvered out of the path of both blast before charging the Hope which flew to the side to avoid another clash of weaponry.

The fulfilment made another beeline and swung its beam Axe overhead only for the Hope to once again pull to the side before following up with its twin cannons.

Barclay inwardly chuckled at this. 'you're holding out so far. Perhaps I can cut loose a bit more.'

Twirling the beam Axe in a fan like motion Barclay increased the power in the Fulfilment's thrusters adding to its already unprecedented speed before charging at Eric yet again.

Due to the increase in speed Eric couldn't engage his own thrusters to get out of the way in time so he brought up the Hope's shield in a mixture of instinct and impulse.

The moment the twirling beam Axe made contact with the Hope's shield the result that followed was nothing short of devastating.

The Hope's entire right arm and shredded and severed from the body in the blink eye before the Fulfilment follow with a kick to Hope's torso sending it flying towards the edge makeshift ring formed by the mobile suits of high judgment.

"If that's all you got Barclay will mop the floor with you pretty damn quick." One of the CGUE pilots said.

Ignoring the insult Eric headed right back towards the Fulfillment now all but desperate. Throughout the short duel Eric had not only on the losing side but Barclay had only been putting the bare minimal of effort.

Not only was Barclay's machine far more powerful but his skills were top tier.

At the rate things were going it wasn't going to be long before the Hope was destroyed.

The fulfilment rushed him once more causing Eric to raise his beam saber to block the attack.

This time the Hope and Fulfilment locked blades whilst the latter pushed the former back with moderate effort.

Before Eric veered to the side to Break away before following up with a shot from the twin cannons which the Fulfilment easily dodge via climbing from diving down again bringing its axe down in the process.

Eric barely managed to pull back in time to avoid the attack before Barcaly brought his Axe up again which Eric hastily blocked with his saber.

"Abner Barclay cease your actions at once!" A voice demanded pver the radio.

Eric was taken aback when he realized it was Lacus of all people who was now inside the Aegis which now had its' hatch closed speaking through the use of the Aegis' radio.

"Your actions are turning this into a battle field in the presence of the chairman's daughter you're surely aware of this are you not?"

Barclay simply laughed at the declaration.

"Is there something funny about what you've been warned of?"

"Of course, I told you intended to make this a battle field in your presense right from the start."

"You will be making an enemy of Zaft is that what you wish."

"We've already made an enemy the Plant's military. If attack their vessel wasn't enough of a hint."

At this Athrun became alarmed and switched his radio to the Vesalius' private channel.

"Vesalius come in, what's your status."

"At-Athrun where are you and the commander? We could really use your help." said Nicole making Athrun go cold with the implications he was giving.

"Nicole what's going on?!"

"The Vesalius came under attack from a band of unknown mobile suits. They taken all of the DINNs we had with us and are doing a number on the Vesalius."

"Is it still intact?!"

"Yeah but me and Dearka are having a really hard time with these guy on our own. Urgghh...could you please hurry back?"

"Sorry but I'm kind hold up by Mobile suits myself."

"Don't tell that pilot of the Hope tricked you."

"No the unknown mobile suits have me and the commander along with most of the EA forces at gun point. Their commander is the fighting the Hope one of one for reasons not known to us."

"What should we do then?"

"Your gonna have to surrender."

"But they could..."

"They're not after the G weapons. They just want us and the EA to stay out of their commander while he fights the Hope."

It was at that moment Dearka's face appeared on the Aegis' screen. "Are you saying these guys are attacking every single one of us and the EA just so their head honcho can have a shot at the Hope personally? Man talk about obsessed."

"If you're sure surrendering is our only option then we'll do it." Nicol said over the radio.

Dearka before sighing. "I'm almost out of power anyway and I doubt i can take em all out before in dry so it looks like throwing in the towel's our only option. Still how are things going for the Hope's pilot?"

"Not good actually he lost his machines right arm and the guy he's fighting had had an overhelming advantage since the beggining I don't think it'll be long before this guy shoots the Hope down."

"If we get out of this Yzak's gonna pop a blood vessel when he recovers." With that Dearka cut the connection.

Meanwhile Eric attempted to take advantage of Barclay's momentary distraction and attempted to make a horizontal slash at the Fulfilment with his beam saber only for it the dive under the swing and retaliate by slashing off the Hope's left leg flying by the unit in the process before turning around to face it again

At that moment Kira who had been watching with increasing anxiety finally letting instinct take over and narrowly avoiding shots from the mobile suits holding him at gun point as he made a beeline for the Fufillment pulling out his own beam saber in the process.

With the lack of sudlety of a distraction for Barclay the commandor of high jugement turned to the Strike and simply waited for it to approach.

Eric watched in shock as he registered just what Kira was doing and bevame fearful when he saw the Fulfilment simply staying in place and realized why.

"KIRA STOP!"

Weather he didn't hear or chose to just ignore Eric was unclear but Kira paid him no heed and slowly closed the distance between himself and the Fulfillment.

Meawhile Barclay simply smirked behind his masked in anticipation.

'The price for interfering will be a swift but severe one.,

Kira swung his beam saber at the Fulfillment when he get close enough only for Barclay to parry the attack with bare minimal effort before flowing up with a slash across the front of the Strike's torso with enough force to cause the Strike to spin around to where its back was facing the fulfillment. As this was happening the Strike's controls in the cockpit exploded much like the Duel's only more fiercely which resulted in Kira nearly being engulfed in flame before losing consciousness.

Barclay was about to run the Strike through from behind before one of the alarms went off. Looking behind him he expect to see the Hope coming to attack him but was surprised to be met with the sight of the Aegis firing its' Scylla cannon.

Athrun was originally just hoping for the duel between Barclay and Eric to end so he might be able to head back to the Vesalius and make sure everyone was all right and take Lacus back to the Plants.

It seemed that things were quickly heading in that direction when the Fulfillment was making quick work of Eric's mobile suit with disturbingly little effort.

But Kira had to be an idiot and jump in when his own machine was already in bad shape as it was thanks to the mobile suits that were holding him at gun point prior to his interference.

Athrun was about to yell over the radio for Kira to stop but Eric beat him to it only to be ignored.

Soon after the Strike and cut across its' midriff and went limp. It didn't help matters when the Fulfillment readied itself to deal the finishing blow.

Practically forgetting he had another person with him Athrun switch the Aegis to its mobile armor form in flight mode and flew after the Fulfillment.

About halfway he opened the Aegis's claws and fired the Scylla cannon. While the shot itself was fast in its' own right and accurate Barclay easily say the shot coming and dodged it with minimal effort soon after it turned to face him.

Quickly switching the Aegis back to its' mobile suit form Athrun quickly ignited all four beam sabers on the Gundam's arms and legs.

While odds of him winning were already bleak if the display the Fulfillment had shown so far wasn't enough of hint he had to do something or else Kira would soon die.

Since Barclay's machine displayed enough speed to easily maneuver out of the way of long or mid range attacks Athrun figured his best bet was close combat. While Barclay had shown unprecedented skill with a single beam axe Athrun figured he could counter that factor through his higher number of weapons.

As soon as Athrun used the beam saber on the Aegis' right arm to lock blades with Fulfillment he attempted to utiliz the beam saber on the Aegis' left leg believing he had a window of opportunity to achieve the first blow. Unfortunately in his haste Athrun had failed to notice the Fulfillment's free hand reaching for another armorment mounted on the side of its theigh and had his previous belief proven wrong when the fulfillement produced a second beam Axe and used it to cleave through the Aegis' midrift narrowly missing to cockpit and severing both of its legs.

Barclay followed up using both beam Axes to sever the Aegis' arms leaving it virtually hopless.

"I'd have thought a Zaft red would have been more challenging."

"Dammit!" Athrun spat on frustration. He should have known better then to just throw himself blindly at the Fulfillment thinking the quantity of close combat armants alone would ensure he came out on top. While Barclay had dosplayed top tier prowess from the moment he showed up Athrun could have done more of he had kept his guard up for any other weaponry that the Fulfillment may have possessed.

While he may not have won he would hve at least lasted longer if he was calmer and less impulsive.

Eric who had been watch silently became wide eyed has the Fulfilment raised one of its' beam Axe and prepared to delived the final blow to the Aegis.

While its' destruction would have meant Athrun's death and the elimination of a major threat to his friends' and family's well being it would mean that Lacus would die.

As this revelation sunk in Eric felt his chest tighten with fear and had he been able to see himself in a mirror he would have seen himself go from a light brown color to pale white in mere moments.

But he didn't know what to do to stop what was happening but still he had to do something or else Lacus wound...no he couldn't let that happen not after going so far to keep her out of the EA's grasp.

Suddenly a calming sensation fell over Eric and took hold as if overriding all the in panic and anxiety he had felt moments ago.

At the same time an odd image of a seed that was the same color as his eyes appeared in mind spinning slow at first before picking up the pace until it promplty burst into small particals of light.

Around the same time the Hope's chest jewel and eyes began shinning really brightly and on the inside Eric merely stared at the PC monitor which showed the sentence "HI (Heavans Influence) system activated."

If not for whatever that mysterious seed had done to Eric he would have most likely started desprately trying to figure out what the HI system did but instead he only made a brief mental note of it and refocused on the Fulfillment and took aim with the twin shoulder cannons and fired.

Thanks to the fact the fulfilment never really moved since cutting the Hope's leg off the short distance between the two units only allowed Barclay enough time turn round only to be hit by both blast leaving places of partially melted armor across the Fulfillment's chest before Eric engaged the Hope's thrusters.

To everyone's surprise the Hope's speed was now well the above its previous limit as it closed the distance between itself and the Fulfillment and made an overhead swing which Barclay block with one of his beam axes.

The Fulfillment readied its other axe for a horziontal swing but thanks to some uneplainable highetned awarness Eric saw the attack coming a mile away and used the Hope's remaining leg to kick the Ffillment in its' stomach before it could even begin to swing its' other axe.

Eric soon engaged his thrusters again and brought his beam sabor down grazing the Fulfillment's shoulder pad has it pulled back.

"Eric please flee from here!" A voice pleaded over the Radio and Eric soon realized it was Lacus.

"Lacus I won't leave you to die." Eric said in a monotone voice.

Lacus found herself stunned not by what Eric said but the emotionless tone he used. The way it sounded so robotic made it seem as if Eric wasn't himself anymore.

The pink haired songstress began to worry that this fight was taking a toll on Eric that turning him into someone who wasn't the kind hearted savior that Lacus had gotten to know in the short time she had spent with him.

It was then that Barclay's laughter was heard over the radio before he spoke.

"Eric. So that's your name."

"What about it?" Eric asked.

"Are you by any chance a surviver of the X8 Holocaust?"

The majority of people who were listening were confused save for a few.

Murrue eyes widened in shock, Mu tensed up inside the immobile Mobius Zero, Rue Smiled having his interesting perked, and Lacus stared at the Hope still worried for Eric who merely responded with silence.

"I take your silence is confirmation."

"If you know about X8 then were you one of the ones responsible?"

"And what if I was?,

"Then you're without a doubt my enemy. And in that case I'm going to kill you." For the first time since the vision of the seed and activation of the HI system happened Eric's voice held emotion. However it was laced with nothing but pure venom

"Very well then let us how strong your intent on my life is." with that Barclay connected both beam Axes by their handles with each blade on the opposite ends and sides forming a double sided beam glaive.

Without any type of response Eric charged at the Fulfillment and beam his beam saber down in an overhead swing which Barclay parried before utilizing and the duel blade via spinning around to where to Fulfillment's back was turned towards the Hope before Barclay thruster the beam Glaive behind him in am attempt to impale the Hope only for Eric to pull back.

"It seems you have renewed vigor still I wonder what brought this to the surface." Barclay said as to face the Hope again of set a course straight for it.

"I didn't bring Lacus here just to let you kill her."

Barclay recalled Laces was inside the Aegis with its' pilot.

"I see so that what brought this surge in skill to the surface. Still I feel inclined to inquire as why. Even if you manage to defeat and ensure the famed songstress returns to the plants it will not benifet your side in any shape or form and I'd imagine the EA would rather use her to their advantage before returning to their enemy especially considering that their having a far more difficult time with subduing the Plants then they had assumed by a vast margin." Barlcay said as he brought his duel beam Glaive down only for Eric to parry it and get pushed back as a result though thanks to the HI system it wasn't nearly as far as the previous times.

Eric attempted a head on counter utilizing a thrust a which Barcaly parried before using one arm to thrown a punch at the Hope's head

"I don't care about the what the Earth Alliance wants and I'm not one of them." Eric said as he retiated with his shoulder cannons moments after swiftly regaining his mobile suit's balance forcing Barclay to hastily dodge before storming forward and cutting off the front half of the Hope's right shoulder cannon.

"I'm not doing this on the EA's behalf or because of some misguided idea that they care for Lacus' well being." Eric attempted to counter with an inward horizontal swing only for Barclay to block the attack causing the Hope and Fulfillment to lock blades.

"I'm doing this because Lacus is someone important to me, someone I want to keep out of harms way and out of the hands of scum like the Earth Alliance and you!" Eric yelled practically forgetting he was speaking on an open channel for everyone present to hear.

Barclay increased amount of power the Fulfilment was putting into the blade lock breaking it and pushing the Hope back.

Barclay couldn't help to smile at the display of prowess Eric was now showing. Truthfully it wasn't nearly enough to defeat Barclay contrary to the likely hopes of EA but it made it far more worth dueling. In the beginning of the fight Barclay was actually becoming inwardly disappointed since the Hope and its' pilot weren't showing any real promise by his personal standards which was making come here all but a waste of time.

Now however it looked liked Barclay's interest were actually turning up something worth his attention, enough so the it might be worthwhile getting to meet to pilot face to face.

The only downside meant the current clash between them had to come to an end. Still as impressive as the increase in the machine's ability and pilot's skill was Barclay had seen all he wanted to so the said con was a small price to pay.

Eric rushed the Fulfillment once again but Barcaly was more then regardless of the Hope's enhanced performance.

"You fought well." Barclay said as he pulled back avoiding a horizontal swing from the Hope's beam saber before twirling his beam glaive in hand for a bit.

"But your futile struggle ends here."

Barclay reeled his beam glaive back before thrusting it forward.

Back inside the Aegis on Athrun's lap Lacus turned pale as she watched the Fulfillment's glaive peirced the hope's chest.

Much to her relief however the Hope didn't burst into to flames. However she unable to see that inside the Hope the cockpit the roof had caved in causing a few broken parts to come through right on top of Eric all but crushing his body under the presure they excerted, if not for the lack of gravity Eric would likely already be dead.

Barclay's laughing was heard before he spoke. "It seems Shirou's brilliance still showed itself even in the most unlikely circumstances If his creating that machine didn't make plain as day. But If only the fool hadn't decided to oppose me he would not have to deal with bitter defeat if the afterlife knowing that anything he strived to achieve dies with his final creation."

Eric was heard almost weazing in and out air before he spoke.

"No...th-this machine is the hope that Shirou aimed to use in opening the world's eyes to this stupid...war."

"Beleive me Eric this world will be made to acknowledge it's injudiciousness but it will be by my hand."

Pulling out the beam Glaive from the Hope's chest Barclay split the two beam Axes apart and remounted them to the Fullfillment's thighs and grabbed the Hope's remaining shoulder and began dragging it away.

"Rooks, Greyson come we're leaving."

"Are we to assume you wish to study the Hope?" Rooks asked.

"That and meet the Pilot in a more personal manner."

"Barcaly wait." Lacus' voice sounded over the radio.

Inside remains of the Aegis Lacus opened the hatch. It was child play to remember after seeimg what level Athrun pulled to close it just once and as soon as it was open wide enough Lacus practically leaped out into the vastness of space much to Athrun's shock.

"Lacus what are you doing!?" The bluenette exclaimed only to be more or less ignored.

"Barclay I ask you to take me with you."

Athrun tried to undue his seatbelt only to discover that somewhere during the fighting it became jammed.

'Really?! Now of all times!?' He thought angrily.

Barclay meanwhile had turned his attention to Lacus replying to her request. "And just why would I do that? I already decided to rescind the decision to kill you."

"True but merely having me in your hands would gice you a great advantage over Zaft would it not? Especailly after what you've done here."

Barclay smirked knowing full well that the famed songstress had a completely different motive for wanting to come along still if she was so intent on coming then why not?

"Very well." he said before turning to the other Mobile suits of High Judgment.

"One of you bring miss Clyne with us."

"On it." one of the Pilot's said and they head towards Lacus with their CGUE.

Meanwhile in the Hope's cockpit the said control space had all but lost power with the only screen showing anything was the front one. However what was shown on it wasn't a display of what was in front of the Hope but rather an image or maybe a hallucination which was was hard to determine since Eric was struggling to stay conscious. Had he been outside the Gundam Eric may have taken notice of the Hope's eyes which were still glowing brighter than usual.

In front of the teen however was an image of a girl with a complexion matching his and long flowing black hair. Upon recognition Eric's eyes widened and whole wave of different emotions ran through his mind as he desperately reached out for the girl.

How was she there and why. Eric could only wonder this as he tried to pull himself free from the pile of parts bearing down on him whilst reaching out

"Is it really you? Whe-where have you been al-all this time?"

Outside the Gundam's eyes began losing their glow as the last of the Hope's power was drain and its phase shift armor come down at the same time however the image of the girl began to slowly fade away causing Eric to renew his struggle to reach her.

"Please... Don't go...I go lose you again." He said as a single tear ran down his face and the image was no longer to maintain invisibility.

"Behar." Eric choked out before finally letting sleep take him.

XXXXX

Back on the Archangel Murrue and everyone on the bridge stared wide eyed at the entire event as Eric fought with the blue unknown mobile suit that the individual calling himself Barclay until it was damaged to the point of being inoperable.

One question on Murrue's mind was who was this Shirou character that Barclay and Eric had spoken of.

The former had made it sound like Barclay was the one of created the Hope and the ladder made it sound like he was well aware of that fact.

If that was the case then that meant..."Eric kept info about the Hope prototype from us." Ramius said to herself.

* * *

 **Alright that's it for this chapter I Hope you enjoyed it really differed from cannon here so I like to think I did a decent job at the least. It looks Eric's (and Lacus of her own accord) been captured and Murrue found/realized out he was hiding information about the Hope Gundam from the EA.**

 **On to other things I used this chapter for Barclay's debut and to anyone who thinks he's way to op right now there's a number of reasons for that first he's going to be a major antagonist in the story if the mask he wears or the previous enough of an obvious hint so I have to make him a strong opponent amd the Fulfillment as some of you more than likely realized is stronger then the G weapons (and Hope) which are weaker than most other Gundams in any Gundam universe in general and the Fulfillment to say the least is in a general league with the second Gundams such freedom and Justice which appear later because of the pilot being a major villain as stated before.**

 **As for it's description well to give you the short (and probably much clearer) explanation it's based off of Full Frontal's Sinanju only it's blue with a with a white eye sensor and has the original Sinanju stein's chest (not the modified version full frontal used) and doesn't have any Neo Zeon symbols on its limbs and it's shoulders and sphere shaped.**

 **As for the reason behind the Fulfillment's existance, it will be explained in later chapter's (unless you want me to tell you personally thrpugh a pm but I'll have to reveal other major spoilers to give you the full pitcher) because there is a story to it's creation.**

 **P.S the title of the chapter was refferring to HighJudgment's debut not the Hope's enhanced performance**


	9. Meeting with High judgment

**OK here's the next chapter of the story sorry in advance for it's short length.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GS**

* * *

"That brat, we should have interrogated him for more information on that machine then threw him brig." An angry Natarle spat.

"We couldn't do that. We had no way to prove he had any more information plus he was a citizen of Orb so we couldn't arrest or restrain him simply for convenience." Ramius replied.

"It's that soft treatment that allowed him to put us in an extremely vulnerable position." Natarle rebutted before continuing.

"Thanks to his insubordination we've lost the Hope, and the Strike along with the Mobius Zero are both inoperable and Yamato is to injured to be of anymore use to us. To make matters worse Raglan has also taken the only trump card keeping Zaft forces from attacking us." Natarle said referring to Lacus.

Marrue inwardly groaned in annoyance. Whether she or anyone on board the Archangel liked it or not everything the Natarle said was true and what was mentioned wasn't even including the parts where the Archangel had been all but completely disabled and the extreme possibility that Eric may have very well been hiding information about the Hope.

During his fight with the High Judgment mobile suit called the Fulfillment its pilot mentioned someone named Shirou and from the way Eric responded and how they were spoken of it sounded like not only were they possibly the Hope's creator but also someone Eric personally knew.

Regardless of whatever the case was as things stood none of it could be confirmed unless Ramius spoke to Eric personally.

However against what most may believe the most unnerving news wasn't any of that but rather the mention of the X8 Colony holocaust.

She had heard rumors about the incident but never really believed that they were true. The said rumors were basically making claims of the Earth Alliance supposedly wiping out a group of colonies that were a nation that was independent of both the EA and Zaft alike and during the EA's attack around 994,800 people were killed, four times the population at Junius Seven which would easily make it the Earth Alliances greatest sin towards the people living in space.

Because of the alleged atrocities spoken of and the fact that no one was really able to confirm whether any of it was true or not Ramius simply dismissed the rumor as a lie created to slander the Earth Alliance's image. It would make sense to her since a good number of people had less then positive views towards the EA not unlike Eric though the Hope's pilot seemed to harbor one of the most biased views of the EA for reasons Ramius couldn't figure out. She knew there were some less than ideal individuals in the EA but overall it was still a force for justice in her eyes even if it was waging war on the Plants for reasons that didn't really justify it.

Murrue had hoped the Earth Alliance would head towards a better path after the war was over even now.

"I'm aware that we're in a really tight spot right now but we need to figure out how were going to get Raglan and the Hope g-weapon back."

"We're probably gonna have to call in some extra help with the way things are now, the best we could hope to do on own is repair my Mobius Zero and a few AA guns with what materials we have but that's not going to do much if we have to go up against these guys ourselves.

"I know the problem is the Eighth fleet is too far out to send support in time."

"Yeah it would take them a little over a weak to get here."

"Then how about contacting the lunar moon base?" Natarle suggested.

"Well it's the only option we have." Ramius admitted.

XXXXX

"Damn, when you told us these people were only after that guy piloting the Hope I actually didn't believe you." Dearka said as he Athrun, Nicole, and Yzak who had half of his face covered in bandages all watched a recording taken from their commander's DINN.

"Then why did you surrender with the rest of us when these guys attacked our ship?" Nicole asked

"It was a no win situation, better to surrender then be killed."

"I'm just glad these High Judgment guys let us go after the fighting was over."

"I don't give a crap about their small fries I just want their leader for getting in the way of my revenge against the Hope!" Yzak yelled out.

"But Yzak that guy took down Athrun, the Strike and the Hope like it was nothing. We can't just throw ourselves at him wildly and expect to win." Nicole said trying to talk sense into the still injured pilot who merely shot him a look of death.

"If you want to run with your tail between your legs all the back to the Plants no one's stopping you coward. But I'm gonna shoot that new machine down for stealing my prey!"

"Enough we don't have time to be fighting amongst each other." Athrun said.

"And what do you suggest we do huh?" Yzak demanded.

"For one form some kind of plan for facing that mobile suit we can't hope to win simply through a head on fight. Plus we also need to get Lacus back."

"True but I gotta say I was kind of caught off guard with the way Lacus decided to go with those High Judgment guys. Gotta wonder why though." Dearka said.

"I think it might have something to do with that Raglan guy." Nicole said drawing everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Athrun asked.

"I think it might be possible she left with that group because she was worried about that Pilot. I mean maybe she cared for him and wanted to see if he was OK by some off chance."

Athrun couldn't bring himself to immediately reply. As crazy as the idea may have sounded to lot of people it wasn't entirely impossible Lacus had a tendency to worry and look after the wellbeing of others even if they were complete strangers.

Dearka smirked upon hearing Nicole's statement.

"Maybe, with the way that guy was yelling over the radio about not caring about what the Earth Alliance wanted and Lacus being someone important to him not to mention all that determination he had shown at the end of that fight one would think Athrun has himself a potential love rival."

"Dearka!" Nicole exclaimed

"What? The footage speaks for itself."

"Maybe but you could have used a little more tact with that implication."

"It's fine Nicole." Athrun said before continuing.

"Right now I just want to find these High Judgment people and rescue Lacus."

'And hopefully make the pilot of that blue mobile suit pay for what they did to Kira.' Athrun thought silently. He honestly wished to shoot the Fulfillment down even if the key word in his recent line of thought was "hopefully" the reason being that with the display the machine had shown chances were not in the La Cruset team's favor.

Even at full strength the team would likely be pushed to their limit and they didn't even have that with the Aegis out of commission. Rue said he was going to contact the Plants and get whatever support he could as well as a pair of CGUEs for himself and Athrun to use in the meantime.

Not the ideal choice but Athrun wasn't complaining. While a CGUE was no Gundam by any means it did possess significantly higher prowess than any basic mobile suit units such as GINNs or DINNs so at the very least Athrun wouldn't be helpless and still have a good amount of strength on the field.

The door to the room opened revealing Rue La Cruset.

"So how did the Plants take the news?" Dearka asked.

"Not very well I'm afraid. As it turns out everyone in the home land is anxious to know what happened memorial crew and Lacus so much in fact that there are news reporters pressing the military for answers."

"Knowing them they'll probably follow anyone sent out here."

Athrun scowled at that. The thought of news stations turning this whole ordeal into entertainment for others wasn't particularly appealing but unfortunately the media being the media would likely see the situation with High judgment as a story that was too good to pass up if and when they caught wind of what has recently transpired.

"It's likely safe to assume that will be the case as things stand the Plants are currently scrambling to muster whatever reinforcements they can spare us with a three-day margin."

"But won't it only take one day for any back at the Plants to get here?" Dearka asked.

"Yes but our forces well need one more to track where High Judgment went and third to head there and fight."

"But won't those High judgment guys get away by then?" Nicole asked.

"Not without avoiding detection from either us or the legged ship. There's no where they can move to with all the forces they deployed to attack us and the legged ship get to from here without a least three Nazca class ships."

"But that still leaves question of where they're hiding." Nicole said causing Rue to smirk before replying.

"There's only one possible place."

"Where?" Demanded Yzak.

"An asteroid belt just over five klicks to the west of our current position."

"If that's where they are then why haven't we crushed them yet?"

"We don't have the manpower to do so."

"What do you mean we don't enough man power? We're the best pilots in all of Zaft, there's no one who can fight on par with us."

'If that were even a little true you would have a far more presentable face.' Rue thought finding Yzak's overestimation of himself increasingly difficult not to laugh at.

"As skilled as you all are we'll need additional support to ensure that we successfully rescue ms Clyne."

"Even though that Natural loving slut betrayed Athrun?"

"Yzak!" Athrun exclaimed in anger.

"Don't give me that, she left you for another guy."

"Yzak we don't know that."

"What else could it possibly be? First she stopped our commander from putting that guy down for good and then leaves with those High Judgment people so she wouldn't be separated from him. Seriously I wouldn't be surprised if she let that damned Natural screw her during her stay on the legged ship."

"Enough." Rue La Cruset said ending the argument before Athrun had the chance to rebuttal.

"Regardless of the reason or motive for ms Clyne's actions our priority as of now is to rescue her and to make sure our chances for success are at their maximum we're likely going to have to make a compromise with the EA."

"What do you mean?" Nicole asked which Rue La cruset merely smiled in response to.

XXXXX

The squeak of wheels could be heard as two figures pulled a gurney with a boy strapped to the top through a long hallway.

The boy in question was barely conscious since they had just began waking up after being forcefully sedated earlier that day. They could barely see and hard a much harder time even register where they were or they're particular situation.

When it came to their sight they had extremely blurry vision to the point that they wouldn't be able to make most things even if they could register their thought process perfectly in fact the only thing the boy could really see was the lights on the ceiling of the building but that was only due to their brightness.

"What does the professor hope to accomplish with his experiments on the survivors?" One of the figures escorting the boy asked before the second one replied.

"I wish I could tell you. The old man just keeps insisting that it's for the sake of the entire cosmic era."

"I seriously fail to see how this is going to help anyone."

"You and me both."

The first figure sighed before continuing.

"As much as it fails to makes sense by the end of the day what the professors says still goes."

The two figures brought the gurney through a set of double doors bringing the boy into a somewhat large room.

There were multiple tables with numerous surgical tools. Many of the said tools however had stains of blood on them indicating they had been recently used.

Separating the room into two halves was a set of closed bloodstained curtains at the room's mid point.

The boy by this time had clearer vision and had come to enough to properly register what the figures were saying.

"So this kid is next in line of the surgery. I feel sorry for him, having to lose his entire family and on top of that being subjugated to this horrible fate this kid has the worst luck in history."

The boy tensed up upon hearing this. Remembering what had happened before he found himself strapped to a gurney anger boiled up in the boy and he began struggling against his restraints catching the attention of the two figures

The first of the two smirked.

"Nice to see you're awake, you can struggle all you want but it won't make it really difference."

It was then another figure where a lab coat emerged from behind the curtains and set their sight on the boy.

A few moments which felt like hours had passed as the two stared each other down before the third figure spoke.

"I know you hate me for this and won't ask you to forgive me but what's happening here and now will contribute to the future of all mankind."

The boy's anger began to rise and his loathing for the third figure shoved its way to the surface of his mind.

XXXXX

A fainted but incredibly close voice spoke out saying something that was muffled.

As moments that seemed to drag on forever went by the voice slowly become clearer to the point where it there was no doubt it was saying a word or rather a name repeatedly as if calling out to the person listening.

The person in question couldn't seem to see anything around them so they simply made the only choice available to them and listened intently to the voice.

More time person and the person could soon begin to make out the name being called.

"E...Er...Er..."

Er? Was that their name?

'No that's only part of it.'

"Er...Eri..."

Light suddenly flooded their vision causing them to grunt and squint.

'What's going on?'

The light continually grew brighter until it began engulfing the person completely.

As sudden as the light came it fade being replaced with the ceiling of a room.

"Eric...Eric!"

With feeling now returning to his body Eric felt someone holding his hand with both of theirs in a way that may have implied they didn't want him to suddenly go away.

Looking to his right the teen boy saw none other then Lacus Clyne sitting next to him.

Immediately upon seeing that Eric had woken up Lacus all but threw herself on top of him taking him into a tight embrace. "Thank goodness you're finally awake!"

Ignoring the jolt of pain that shot through his body Eric returned the embrace in spite of his confusion before speaking.

"Um Lacus what happened?"

"You were unconscious for over a day." Lacus replied letting go of Eric.

"Over a day? why was I even...?" Eric stopped in sentence and recalled the entire clash with Barclay.

"That's right that guy he..." Eric said as he began to sit up before being silenced by another jolt of pain which also stopped him from propping himself all completely before Lacus placed her hands on his shoulders and began pushing him back down.

"Please rest while you can. I don't how long you'll be able to."

"What do you mean? Please don't tell me were back on the Archan..." Eric stopped when he looked around.

"...gel" Now having a chance to scrutinize his (and by some chance Lacus') makeshift quarters and realize wherever he currently was it was by no means the Archangel and it didn't bear the look of what one would expect to find on a Zaft ship.

In fact the desk next to the bed Eric was laying was made of a polished wood rather than metal and also had a mirror hanging on the wall above it and the walls had various paintings on them of medieval knights and armies, Eric also caught eye of the door to the room which was open but he simply ignored it in favor of continuing his securitization of the room.

Overall the room he and the songstress of the Plants were currently in looked more like it belong in a mansion rather than any ship.

"So where are we exactly?"

"We've been taken to one of the many bases belonging to High judgment."

"You mean we've been captured."

"That's the simplest way to interpret it but that it's not necessarily the correct way." Another voice said.

Eric turned towards the door to see two people standing just outside of it.

One looked to be a middle aged man with blond hair who wore a military uniform not known to either of the two teens and bore an somewhat unreadable presence. The other was surprisingly a teen boy around Eric and Lacus' age with brown hair that curved to the right giving and black jeans and an open hoodie over a red shirt giving them the appearance of typical high school delinquent.

The latter of the two stood out more but not due to their age or overall appearance but rather that in spite of the fact they wore a stoic expression much like the former the latter gave off a vibe of hidden anger. This on its own would have been easy to ignore if not for them keeping their gaze fixed solely on Eric making him slightly unnerved in the processed as opposed to the former who was keeping his attention of both Eric and Lacus.

Soon whatever silent tension was in the air was dissipated when Eric finally spoke.

"Who are you and what did you mean by what you said just now?"

"I'm am simply known as Rooks since the time I've joined Barclay in his campaign and this boy with me is known as Grayson Landry. As for your second question to be specific we indeed captured you however ms Clyne has decided to come with us of her own accord."

Eric turned to Lacus who spoke before he could even ask the obvious question.

"He's telling truth I came because I was worried for your wellbeing after you were defeated and went silent over the radio I had to know if you were still among the living or not."

"We were worried, we were worried." Chimed Lacus' Harobot.

"I see, sorry for worrying you." Eric said before turning to Rooks.

"What are you gonna do with us?"

"Nothing as of now. Our commander wants to meet you personally."

XXXXX

"Let me get this straight you've not only lost the perfect bargaining tool against the Plants but also the only two mobile suits the EA had at it's disposal as because of your inability to handle some civilian not worth caring about." A man in his fifties donning the uniform of an EA vice admiral by the name of Frank Williams asked looking at a monitor displaying the unofficial captain of the Archangel Murrue Ramius.

"We had no way of knowing he would go so far for ms Clyne."

"If you had simply thrown the boy in the brig or better yet executed him from the beginning this entire ordeal could have been avoided."

"There were no grounds that we could have done that. Up until now Raglan had never done anything to warrant it and a citizen of Orb doing such a thing could have become a national incident."

"He was illegally using property of the Earth Alliance and a piss ant nation like Orb isn't gonna do anything over one citizen hell with how cowardly those people are I'll even bet we could publicly execute all the refugees on the Archangel and Orb still wouldn't do a damn thing."

Murrue began to feel a great deal of resentment, Frank Williams was proving to be downright arrogant even more so than many other EA personnel if he seriously believed what he was saying about Orb.

"That aside this entire dilemma is your own screw up and personally I think you should clean it up yourself." Frank declared.

"You're kidding, in our condition we barely have any fighting capabilities as it is!"

"Well you're just gonna have to use what you have and get some results. If you can't even deal with some junk guild wannabes then you're not even fit to be an officer of the EA." Frank said cutting the link to the Archangel.

"Sir are we really gonna send the Archangel after these High Judgment guys on their own?" An officer asked to which Frank merely smirked.

"No I'm just setting the stage for myself to rise to the top." The Vice Admiral declared.

"I don't think I follow."

"And you don't have to, just have the communication record taken to our personnel and edit what was said between me and the Archangel's commanding officer." Frank demanded as he began to done an almost predatory smile of his face.

'Time to make a name for myself on the history books by retaking the keys to the EA's victory.'

XXXXX

"This can't seriously be happening." Ramius all but groaned in frustration.

"If they're really so misguided that they think we can work a miracle they must seriously be misinformed about how this war is going."

'Don't remind me.' Murrue thought to herself even knowing the truth of Mu's words.

While everyone on earth thought the EA would achieve a swift and one sided victory with superior numbers everyone quickly found out that was far from the case. If anything, the tide of the war was actually shifting in Zaft's favor considering they were scoring the larger number of victories and had taken control over a good portion of the Earth's territories and even taken most of the EA mass drivers save for one in panama.

"Mam we're being hailed by the Vesalius." One of the crewmen said.

Ramius sighed. 'First I get refused aid by anyone from the moon base and now this?'

"Put it on the main monitor."

After a few moments passed Rue La Cruset's masked and smirking face was displayed.

"I see you're doing well."

"What do you want Rue?" Demanded Mu La Flaga to which Rue La Cruset only continued smirking in response to for a few moments.

"Nothing short of a mutually beneficial compromise that will allow both side to gain what they now want back."

After exhaling a bit of air Ramius replied. "What type of comprise do you have in mind?"

XXXXX

"Sorry for having to lean on you like this." Eric who had one arm wrapped around Lacus' shoulder.

"It's OK I'll happily help has long as I am able." Lacus replied as she and Eric were led down a long hall by Rooks and Grayson.

Back when they first left the room were Eric and Lacus were being kept it was quickly discovered that Eric had a difficult time walking anywhere without some type of assistance due to his injuries when he fell to the floor after taking just a few steps.

Rooks was originally going to have a guard assist Eric but Lacus volunteered and since then the had been leaning on the latter for support.

"We're here." Rooks said as the group arrived at a set of double doors before two armed guards standing on either side opened both door.

What greeted the two teens was a moderately sized office like rook with couches on the left and right sides and a desk at the far.

Standing in front of the desk with two armed guard on either side of him was a man wearing a dark gray coat that fall down just above their feet with black pants. The most noticeable asset to their attire was a pale silver mask covering most of their face save for their mouth and silver hair with a light blue tint.

Upon the sight of the man Eric tensed up until he spoke. "As of this very moment you've nothing to worry about less you attempt anything drastic of course. But please sit down." The masked man said gesturing to the couches.

Eric and Lacus simply did as they were told sitting of the couch to the left while Grayson and Rooks sat on the one to the right.

"So how did you come across Shirou's creation." The masked man.

Eric quietly grunted before answering. "Zaft riflemen chased into the facility where it was being held before a guard working for Shirou led me to the Hope under his orders."

Eric's eyes narrow as he continued. "I'm guessing you're Barclay."

"Of course."

The teen pilot felt his rage began to boil over until he felt a hand placed over his.

Lacus then turned to face Barclay.

"Abner Barclay explain why you have attacked the memorial crew and why you pursued Eric."

"Simple, the first attack was carried in hopes of taking your life and pushing the war to the next stage from behind the shadows which was our original purpose for coming out here at least until EA showed up at the ruins of Junious Seven and Eric decided to play the part of the knight in shining armor and save you. Since his actions prevented any chance of us assassinating you unseen I decided to take a different path and make our organization's debut."

"If you simply wanted to make yourself and those who choose to work under you known then why did you attack Eric? He was never an enemy of High Judgment."

"Perhaps not as an EA solider but he was as the pilot of the machine he was using since Heloipolis."

"He simply wanted to protect his friends."

It was by this time Rooks decided to enter the conversation.

"That may be but that getting inside the machine makes him am enemy regardless of his intentions."

"Why."

"Because that Machine was created by Shirou in hopes of opposing us making it a potential threat."

"And I wouldn't say my decision was necessarily wrong since the possibility of the threat existed at all." Barclay said.

"Tell me what did you have to do with what happened at 8X all those years ago." Demanded Eric who was shaking with barely contained rage. If not for Lacus Eric probably would have tried to blindly lash out Barclay only to be shot by the guards by now.

"Why does it matter?"

"One of biggest death tolls in human history resulted from the EA's attack!" Eric half yelled out.

"Be that as it may it's less than relevant now plus I never actually admitted to having anything to do with it."

Lacus clasped her hand over Eric's more firmly and was met with surprise when Eric turned his hand over forcing her to let go long enough for him to grab her hand and interlink his figures with hers.

The songstress was unsure of weather Eric's action was his way of offering support or asking for it but either the songstress found herself welcoming the gesture.

"Then how did you know I was a survivor of X8?"

"Your name."

"What?"

"Eric was the name of the son of a former scientist X8 who I knew personally." Barclay said before continuing.

"If not for the fact you were piloting the mobile suit created by Shirou I would have thought it you having the same name as a coincidence, But the fact that Shirou decided to entrust you with his hopes for the future paints a pitcher of you being someone who had to have come from X8. Now then I have two questions for you."

Eric only responded with silence.

"What were you hoping to accomplish with that machine and who are you really? I think we both you're not the Eric I spoke of, he was someone I killed myself."

Eric opened his mouth but no words came out. While he initially got in the Hope to protect his friends and family he never really thought of any long term goal. While a large part of him wanted to help Shirou realize his wish to wake humanity from its idiotic nature he wasn't particularly sure where to start and when it came to who he actually was that was the one thing about himself Eric desired to forget more than anything else since it only serve to remind of everything he had lost.

"So you got in the machine not realizing what it truly meant. That actually may just be ironically beneficial for you." Barclay said suddenly snapping Eric out of his train of thought in the process.

"How is that?"

"Because making Shirous wish for humanity a reality will likely come at a great cost to you personally."

"Barclay what is it you strive to accomplish?" Lacus inquired.

"A simple goal that so many desire especially now with this needless war going on."

"You mean peace?"

"Yes, however unlike so many others I intend to bring about a certain reformation for that ideal."

Lacus' eyes narrowed. "Tell me is this reformation one that the people of Earth and space would accept willingly."

"It would have likely come into fruition decades ago if people had even slightest semblance of acceptance of it."

"Then you should surely know that Zaft and EA will stand against you."

"That was an eventuality our organization would be faced with."

"Do you and those under you intend to join this war and fight both sides?"

"If we must which is more than likely to be the case now thanks to Eric saving you from the unit we had destroy the ship the originally brought to Junius Seven.

It was then that Eric glanced at a peculiar painting on the far wall which displayed a four winged angel with two swords in each hand. The angel wore nothing more than a white cloth around their pelvic area and was surrounded by humanoid demons and bull like heads and wielding various weapons.

The oddest feature were the shackles around the angel's wrist and ankles.

"I see you've taken notice of the Portrait of the enslaved angel." Barclay said snapping Eric out of his trance.

"What... story is it supposed to show."

"One of a holy warrior pulled from their sanctuary and forced to recursively fight against the demonic armies invading the earth due to a guilty and but hopeful human master and humanity's deficiency simply so their said master can realize their personal wish."

Barclay smiled. "The Angel actually loathes and despises its human master with every fiber of its being."

"Wh-why?"

"The human simply wanted to save their world from being conquered by demon kind and why the wish was indeed noble due to their powerlessness to directly confront the problem they were forced to rely an angel who had nothing to do with the conflict."

"If the human you spoke of had no choice then why would the Angel loath them so much?" Lacus asked slightly surprising Eric since that exact question was exactly what he was wandering.

"As I've told you before the human master forced the angel to fight on their behalf, the angel was essentially torn from its salvational sanctuary and made to fight against its and had irreversibly lost its salvation as a result."

Barclay then stood up and walked to towards the far end of the room a bit.

"Unable to return to the heavens the Angel was left with nothing but the purposes its human summoner had intended making it into something of a slave."

"You mean the Angel basically lost everything and was left with nothing but an unwanted purpose it never asked for."

"That would be the brevity of its tale. Shirou always had a certain attachment this painting even once claiming that the world may require someone of an actual shackled angel or something close to it in order to push people away their moronic path."

Barclay turned to face Eric. "Tell me have you really no intent on going against the flow of the world?"

"The only things I want is to get my family and friends to Orb and Lacus out of danger of you or the EA and forget about this entire war."

"A thoughtful wish but neither of the two are going to happen." Barclay declared making Eric grip Lacus' hand a bit a firmly as if trying to silently convey he would protect her.

"There's another reason why I had you brought here and allowed ms Clyne to join us."

Eric tensed up.

"You will be brought to our primary base for dissection and study and ms Clyne while be publicly executed as a way of announcing our intent on joining the war."

The four guards in the room went over to where the two teens sat and began escorting them out.

"So was it worth meeting the boy?" Rooks asked after the teens were gone.

"Somewhat I suppose. He seems to acknowledge the need to fight in the heat of the moment but still has the naive mind set of the average Orb citizen."

"Agreed, if not for the display at the end of your duel with him I may have refused to see how he could have defeated Bernard."

"Perhaps but I doubt he used the machine's enhanced performance back then."

Rooks raised an eyebrow. "Your reason for this?"

"Because had he used before he'd have likely defeated one or more members of the La Cruset's team already."

"What do you want us to do with the machine?"

"Study it and take the battle data if it's still intact and find out what your able about the machine's increased performance afterwards dispose of what's left."

"Wait." Barclay turned to Greyson who continued.

"Please allow me to pilot the machine."

"You're aware that the captured mobile was created by a man who intended to us aren't you?" Rooks asked.

"Yeah but my only purpose is to realize High Judgment's ambitions, beyond that there's no value in my living. So is there anything wrong by using whatever means are available to that end?"

"Point taken." Rooks said before Barclay followed up.

"I'll concede to your request."

"I'll have the mechanics stationed here prioritize repairs to the cockpit to get the machine operable. On another note why did you not leave with the ship we sent to take the data collected from the legged ship.

XXXXX

"Dammit Ramius this isn't the time to be making this a game for glory!"

"And why not. The glory of bringing the EA victory in this way belonged to me to begin with."

"It's not gonna matter if you head off after an enemy we know nothing about!"

"Who cares about who they are they took the prize that will make me a war."

"You can't do this alone. After all the damage these guys did you should know better then to underestimate them."

"They only got the jump on me with cheap guerilla tactics. I'm gonna pay them back ten fold."

The connection cut off and audio feed stopped.

"Is this convincing enough sir?"

"Without a doubt." Frank Williams said smiling at the results of the altered/edited communications record between him and Ramius.

"Murrue Ramias let's her ego get the better of her and I swoop in and clean up her mess and get back the EA's trump cards ensuring its victory over the enemy. I'll be a legend for this." Frank announced arrogantly before turning on an intercom system.

"Attention all Lunar base personnel we've received information of an unknown terrorist group who have captured a special EA weapon and took Ms Clyne from us after the new ship known as the Archangel had found her. To make matters worse it's commanding officer Murrue Ramius and the rest of its crew have decided to take matters into their own hands."

Frank was inwardly laughing with the belief that he would be triumphant in his ambition.

"As such it is now our mission to stopped the Archangel crew's reckless behavior and retrieve the specail weapon as well as Lacus Clyne. We'll be sending out a small capture unit within the hour." The vice admiral of the lunar base declared.

'time to become the hero who stopped the Coordinator threat.

XXXXX

"You'll be staying here until it time for all of us to leave so I'd advise you two to make the most of it because from here you'll both be marching to your deaths." One of the escorts said as the finished bringing the two teens back to the room they were previously in.

Lacus took brief notice of a new bed that must have been brought in while they were gone. while the gesture may have seemed generous it really didn't mean anything due to their current predicament.

looking forward the songstress set her gaze on Eric who was shacking as if trying to contain a mixture of rage and sadness that threatened to shove its way to the surface. It wouldn't be surprising of that was the case, during most of the meeting it seemed to be bring the name X8, from what little Lacus knew it seemed to be connected to the loss of his original family and if that was the case then the entire meeting had probably reopened old wounds within Eric.

Lacus wanted to ask Eric what exactly happened with his first family but she knew Eric wouldn't want to talk about it now since he just got done speaking of it with a man who in all likelihood played some part in the loss of his loved ones. since words wouldn't be of any use here Lacus did the only thing she could.

Eric was initially startled when he felt two arms wrapped around him from behind and embrace. once he was aware of what Lacus was doing he became confused until she spoke.

"I can't take any of your pain away but I can at least do this for you." Lacus said pressing her head into Eric's back.

"...Thank you." Eric said as he allowed himself to practically melt in her embrace and placed his arms over hers as if trying to silently convey that he didn't want her to let go.

* * *

 **Alright that's the end of chapter once again sorry for the short length bit double chapter release make up for it and much more happens in the next one**.


	10. Glimmer of High Judgment's strengh

**Alright here's chapter tenth chapter of hopeful path. this is my longest chapter yet,**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam seed**

* * *

"You can't seriously expect us to take you up on that proposal." Mu la Flaga shot at his long time enemy.

The commander of the Zaft ship the Vesalius had just suggested that the Archangel's crew conduct a joint mission with the Zaft forces in order to ensure the success of the soon to be raid against High judgment. It went with saying everyone currently present on the bridge found the very idea of the enemy commander's proposal less than acceptable.

"And what alternative do you have? Considering the damage your ship has suffered and the timespan until you will have to pursue High judgment I'd imagine the best you could hope to muster is a few AA guns and a single mobile armor." Rue replied smirked.

Ramius' eyes narrowed in frustration since everything the enemy commander had just called the Archangel's crew out on was undoubtedly true as much as she hated to admit. With Kira injured and the Strike inoperable along with Eric and the Hope being captured (and the latter probably less operable than the Strike.) not to mention all of the Archangels major weapons had been shot out the ship and Crew were little more than a barely mobile target for essentially anyone who saw fit to dub the ship an enemy.

Sighing in defeat Ramius decided to make the only choice available to her thanks to the Admiral Frank Williams making an unreasonable demand to work some type of miracle and get the Hope back. Ramius had heard he was an ass to all his subordinates but she had at least thought he'd be a little more considerate of the Crew's situation.

"Okay what do you want us to do?" Ramius asked causing both Mu and Natarle to become wide eyed.

"You can't be serious; we can't trust that snake!" Mu exclaimed before Natarle followed.

"He's right it is ill-advised to trust the enemy."

"The Admiral at the lunar moon base refused to help us saying we should clean up this mess ourselves and the eighth fleet is too far out to get any pilots let alone a sufficient number to help us effectively and if we really went on our own we'd be sitting ducks."

"Well if all else goes wrong we should be able to make sure that the some of the ordeal falls back on Williams if we're ever court martialed. Should be pretty easy considering the conversation was recorded." Mu said causing Natarle to turn to him.

"Lieutenant La Flaga are you going with this too!?"

"I don't like it any more than you do but as Ramius said we're not getting any help from our own side and on our own we're little more than cannon fobber if even that."

Rue smirked at this. "It's good for all of us that your reasonable."

"This is just a truce until we get back Raglan and the Hope and you get back miss Clyne." Ramius declared.

"Of course."

"So what do you want us to do?" Ramius asked.

"nothing unreasonable in fact you and your crew will be out of danger for the majority part."

"Meaning?"

"You'll simply act as navigators and coordinate the battle observing enemy positions as well as notifying Zaft forces of any potential opening.

"So Zaft will be doing essentially all the fighting." Mu said

"For the majority part yes however if you can be some miracle repair the Strike or at least your mobile Armor you're more than welcome to join in the assault."

"Gives us the rest of the day and we'll have the Mobius Zero back in the fight."

"Don't worry you'll have the next three. Before we head to the only possible location that High judgment could possibly be hiding."

XXXXX

Eric sat at the desk in the guest room that he and Lacus were currently being held in staring at the wall in a mixture of contemplation and frustration. The former was due to the need to somehow escape somehow and get himself and more importantly Lacus out of the base before frigates arrived to take them and all the members of High Judgment to where the organizations real base was. If they didn't escape before that time Eric would likely be executed before Barclay made good on his word on public executed Lacus while broadcasting the latter's death to the people of the Plants.

The latter was because as things stood he was pretty much powerless to do much of anything. Fighting his way out was out of the question. While he may have been able to pilot a mobile thanks to the simulator sessions that Shirou let him take he wasn't trained in how to use a hand gun or did he even have any type of weapon to use, not that it mattered since even in a scenario where he did the High Judgment personnel had a vast number advantage that Eric doubted the Archangel's crew would be able to counter and this wasn't even including the part of a lack of transportation out of the hideout the only thing he knew how to pilot was currently inoperable.

As things stood Eric and Lacus mine as well have been a pair of caged birds with clipped wing being readied to be fed to snakes for the sake of some sadist's entertainment.

"Dammit what am I supposed to do?" Eric muttered to himself before being snapped out of his train of thought when a hand found its way on his shoulder causing him to look behind him to see Lacus.

"Eric you shouldn't worry too much. "

"But Barclay intends to have us both killed as soon as others from his organization come to pick us and everyone else currently here up."

"Yes but he also said it would take a couple of days so there's still hope."

"There still hope There's still hope." Chimed Lacus' Harobot chimed.

"Maybe." Eric said inwardly laughing at the scenario. Depending on who rescued them things could either go from bad to better or potentially worse. If Zaft rescued them then things would take a better direction at least as far as Lacus' fate went tough Eric would be taken as a POW if not executed as majer threat to the Plants considering, he was the pilot of the Hope hands down.

If the EA rescued them then things would still be bad if not get worse considering the average EA officer would be more than willing to use Lacus as a hostage and interrogate her for information on Zaft that it was pretty much safe to assume she didn't have and Eric himself would be thrown in the brig permanently if not executed as a traitor even though he was never one of the EA to begin with at least not officially.

If Lacus weren't in the room with him Eric probably would have laughed bitterly at the realization that no matter which scenario came to pass he would be locked up or even more likely killed. Eric could only hope Lacus didn't come to this realization.

"Eric please don't give up on everything I promise that if Zaft rescues us my father will be more than willing to spare and even pardon you and if the EA comes I'm sure those on the ship won't be too hard on you." Lucas said catching Eric off guard.

"How did you know about what I was thinking."

Lacus laughed a bit before answering. "Because in the brief time we've spent together I've gotten to know you rather well."

"True." Eric admitted.

"But I'm being serious, you shouldn't simply resign yourself to death if you were to die here I'm certain your family would be devastated and so would your friends your fellow pilots action is proof of that."

Again what Lacus said was true especially since Kira did indeed throw himself at a powerful enemy for Eric's sake though it only served to get him hurt. While Eric was grateful for Kira's intention and how it saved his life a good part of him would have preferred Kira didn't do what he did since it also resulted in him getting hurt.

Then there was Athrun who jumped for Kira's just long enough for the Aegis to be delimbed and Lacus to close to death for comfort. Thinking back on it Eric remembered how he saw that seed in his mind and the Hope suddenly engaged the HI system giving him the chance he needed to save Lacus even if only for the moment.

"Also should we be taken to the Plants by Zaft I swear I won't let you be killed." Lacus said continuing her speech.

While she truly meant her promise there we're still those in the Plant that would seek to do otherwise. Such as the radicals on the counsel and more so to the point her fiancé's father Patrick Zala. It was no secret that Zala wasn't fond of Naturals in fact if anything his hatred for them was rivaled only be Blue Cosmos' disdain for Coordinators Lacus shuddered to think of how quickly Zala would have Eric put in front of a firing squad and soon found herself swearing that she wouldn't let Zala hurt Eric if Zaft were indeed their rescuers.

"Alright I believe you." Eric replied placing his hope in the chance that if Zaft did indeed show up Lacus could stop him from being executed at the very least, he knew Lacus also was being serious about him being pardoned but Eric doubted Zaft would be that generous considering he has been fighting them as an enemy.

While Lacus may have been potentially right about the Crew on the Archangel (Save for Natarle) not coming down too hard on him the fact remained that Lacus herself would have a very dark future ahead of her if the EA ever got ahold of her so the only good case scenario was if Zaft found them before they were taken to High judgment's actual base.

"Good. But for now let's get some rest, it won't do us any good to stress ourselves about our situation for hours on end."

"Aright." Eric conceded heading over to the new bed that had been put in the room during his meeting with Barclay. While the gesture didn't serve to ease the bleak atmosphere, it did serve to help avoid an unnecessary awkwardness from have to share a bed with Lacus Clyne of all people, especially considering that the latter of the two teens was already betrothed.

While she may have trusted him but that didn't make the idea of them sleeping I the same bed appropriate. That aside Eric did have to admit Lacus was right about no good coming from stressing himself out over the situation, the best he could do for the moment was bid his time until he and Lacus were hopefully rescued or a chance came up to escape.

XXXXX

"Tell me how are repairs to Shirou's mobile suit coming along?" Barclay asked as he and rooks stood side by side looking at the heavily damaged machine.

"Our mechanics have been working around the clock and managed to clear out the debris that had littered the cockpit as well as got the thrusters working again."

"And what of its systems?"

"Shirou was consistent in making sure no one but Eric could pilot it. The machine previously had DNA registry that was designed to recognized the boy's biometric signature linked to a self-detonation device that would activate if someone aside from the machine's chosen pilot tried to use the mobile suit. We've since then removed the DNA registry so Greyson could use and have already extracted that data recorded from its previous battles."

"It sounds like we've been able to extract all this machine's secrets thus far."

"All except for its most influential one."

"The source of its heightened performance I take it?"

"loath as I am to admit it yes, we found what could have very well been the module locate in the chest region."

"I assume my stabbing the machine in the chest damaged it?"

"Beyond repair or and of possible analyzation."

"So the machine's trump card has been removed from play."

"Yes but even without it's enhanced performance it still possesses fire power beyond that of any standard issued mobile suit Zaft has available aside from the stolen G weapons. Plus, with the data we may even be able to produce a new machine that can tip the scales in our favor."

"That have been more useful if Bernard were still among the living."

"I know and I'll admit it may be my fault since I didn't send any other higher tier pilots to assist him."

"That can't be helped. At the time we believed the best Shirou would have been able to muster was an average PMC pilot and there was also Bernard's ego to take into account."

"All the more reason I should have sent a second ace pilot to assist.

"Perhaps but we achieve nothing but lingering over past mistakes. The best we can do is give whatever machine produced from the data to another higher tier pilot."

"I have a few I mind we may be able to choose from."

"Good, I'll leave who's chosen at your discretion."

"I promise I won't disappoint you."

XXXXX (The next day)

"It looks like Zaft is having much better luck than we are." Mirriallia said.

"Yeah with the moon base deciding leave us hanging like this we pretty much don't have a choice but to trust the fighting to them now." Sai said.

"Wh-what happens if Zaft can't beat these guys?" Kuzzy inquired nervously.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we came to it." Sai said not wanting to think about the scenario Kuzzy had just brought up. While the said scenario wasn't a positive one however the question was probably lingering on everyone's mind since the Archangel was disabled and the only two major sources of protection were taken out as things stood meaning the beyond Zaft force and a few AA guns assuming the latter was repaired in time the Archangel was completely vulnerable to any type of attack.

In the end all they could do was their part and aim for the best possible outcome for the upcoming fight.

XXXXX

"If this is someone's idea of a joke I'm not Laughing." Yzak all but yelled in anger.

"Our priority is the rescue of miss Clyne not safe guarding your pride." Rue La Cruset retorted.

The commander of the Vesalius had just revealed his plan to conduct a joint mission with the Archangel's crew in order to further optimize the chances of success for the mission. Upon notification of the said Plan Yzak immediately made his dislike known. Rue expected as much but even so he still couldn't help but find the Zaft red's attitude a little annoying.

"There's no way in hell I'm working with Natural's!"

"Then you'll be confined to your quarters during the duration of the mission and we'll have the Duel temporarily assigned to another pilot."

"What?!"

"Those are your options Joule. Either assist with the mission or I'll find someone else."

Yzak growled using all his will power to keep himself from trying to lash out at his commander since it would either end with himself getting beat up and thrown in the brig or shot on the spot.

"Calm down Yzak, just think of it as a compromise so you get a shot at the guy who stole your kill." Dearka said placing a hand on his friend's shoulder."

"Fine. But that guy better show up when the fighting starts, killing him is the only reason I'm helping with this mission.

"Good now that we're on the same page we'll link up with the legged ship as soon as our reinforcements arrive."

"What about the EA's reinforcements?" Nicol asked

"They let it slip that the closest base under EA control decided to ignore their plight in this matter."

"You sure there not trying to trick you up." Deark asked.

"I could tell they weren't by their inner arguing about whether to work with us or not."

"So basically, it's either work with us or get killed by those High Judgment guys."

"That'd be the legged ship's case in a nutshell."

"sheesh I almost feel sorry for them."

Tch I don't." Yzak spat.

XXXXX

"So what's the status of the Archangel's weapon systems?" Ramius inquired upon meeting the chief engineer Murdoch in the hanger bay.

"Better than before we got a few AA guns back online so we're not downright defenseless but I wouldn't recommend jumping headfirst into a battle field against Zaft forces or those guys that took that Raglan kid and Ms Clyne."

"Agreed."

"Then why are we going to fight these people alongside Zaft forces? I think I speak for probably all the crew when I say we can't trust them."

"Believe me under normal circumstances I would never have considered doing this but since the Vice Admiral at the moon's lunar base is intent on ostracizing our need for assistance we don't have a choice."

"If I ever meet that bastard face to face I'm seriously gonna have to avoid decking him and breaking his nose."

"You and me both." Another voice said causing Ramius and Murdoch to turn and see Mu La Flaga.

"So how's the Mobius Zero?" The mobile armor pilot asked

"Good as new, your machine was the one thing we could repair completely." Murdoch answered.

"Glad to hear it."

"Wait Mu are you planning on fighting!?" Ramius exclaimed.

"Yeah someone's gotta make sure Raglan gets rescued."

"Even though this whole thing is that brat's fault?" A mechanic who was walking be asked.

"What happened with these High judgment guys can't be blamed on Raglan." Mu said.

"And why not? If he hadn't tried to stab us in the back by giving the Plants back their little happy go lucky princess."

"Somehow I don't think it would have made any difference if he hadn't."

"And you're basing this off?" Murdoch said.

"What that Barclay said when he first showed up about intending to fight from the begging."

Ramius' eyes widened a bit. "You mean.."

"Yeah I think that guy was planning to fight Raglan long before he ever attempted to return Lacus back to Zaft."

"I see your point but still if you go fight during the attack against High Judgment we won't be able to support you in any way."

"That's fine. I'm not planning to do anything suicidal I'm just getting Raglan back."

"But we don't necessarily even know if he's."

"He's alive. He may not be the most compliant volunteer but with how determined he was there's no way he'll simply roll over die here." Mu declared.

As Ramius watching the Hawk of Endymione's retreating she found herself silently praying that Mu would return safely. Well Ramius had been a fine job of leading everyone on the Archangel through many endeavors since the attack on Heliopolis it hadn't been an easy task by any means. If not for Mu supporting her she wasn't sure if she could have even made this far.

XXXXXX

IN the medical bay of the Archangel Kira laid on a hospital type bed unconscious burn marks were visible on his arms and torso (though the latter marks were actually concealing by a hospital gown and blanket over him." has a wet cloth was wiped cross his forehead.

"Come on Kira, you need to hurry up and get better." Said Flay who was sitting beside him, her voice laced with fabricated affection while a smile showing a false sincerity decorated her face.

After a few more moments of wiping sweet off of Kira's head Flay's expression contorted I to much more demented and hate filled smile. "You have to kill the other Coordinators who took daddy away before you have my permission to die along with that worthless Coordinator loving traitor." Flay whispered to herself as she contemplated her revenge against Kira and the rest of the Coordinator race.

Once Kira awoken Flay would get him wrapped around her finger, it wouldn't take much effort since Kira already had a crush on her and while the thought of having any type of relation with Coordinator disgusted her to no end it would be worth it to watch Kira suffer as he was forced to kill his own kind until his dying breath.

Flay was also a bit annoyed with what happened to Eric. Well not so much what as opposed to when and where, Flay was glad Eric was dead (As far as she knew) she would have rather had a front row seat to his demise. When she heard about some pilot of a machine no one had ever seen coming out just to attack Eric she found herself personally wanting to thank the person responsible for Eric's death. Still she would have preferred to have play some part in the events leading to Eric's fate via some type of manipulation.

'Oh well it's not like that loser will be worth remembering, he can enjoy rotting in hell with his spacrat princess.'

XXXXX

On the Vesalius Athrun and the other members of the La Cruset team along with the said team's commander were watching two more Nazca class ships heading towards their location.

Each ship a total of twelve GINNs along eight CGUEs two of which for Rue La Cruset and Athrun making a total of 28 pilots that had been sent to assist with the rescue of Lacus.

"Hopefully their able to help even the odds against those guys who attacked us the other days." Nicole said referring the reinforcements onboard both Nazca class ships.

"We don't need them or the legged ships help." Yzak declared.

"You enthusiasm is nice Yzak but you weren't with us when we had to fight these guys, they're a lot tougher than you think." Dearka said.

"You turning into another Nicol now?"

"Know just giving you a much-needed head up."

"Whatever I'll take these guys down myself if I have to."

Dearka could only sigh in response. While Yzak's confidence in his prowess as a pilot especially since obtaining the Duel Gundam was a positive in its own way it was also something of an Achilles hill since his hotheaded nature made him rush head first into danger without thinking it through or even properly registering the factor of danger. In fact it may very well have been that misplaced confidence which got him the bandages in the first place.

If Yzak did something to reckless Dearka would probably have to bail him out.

"I'll leave you to make final preparations for the mission. I need to informant our allies of the joint operation." Ru said left the bridge of the ship.

"Preparations? I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Yzak said before walking off with Dearka following close behind.

"Do you think we really have a chance?" Nicol asked.

Athrun took a few moments top ponder the question. While the other two members might have though asking such a thing was a coward's squander in reality it was something that needed to be asked. Although the La Cruset team may have been ace pilots the amount of skill that even some of the common pilot amongst High Judgment displayed made the group as a whole incredibly dangerous. If everyone simply threw themselves at the enemy blindly the 28 pilots would become zero in the blink of an eye and all that wasn't even taking the Fulfillment into considering.

"If we tread carefully we'll have a chance."

"So we'll need a plan."

"More or less."

"Well if rescuing Clyne is our top priority I could use the Blitz's mirage collide system to scour the area when the fighting starts to look for her."

"Really? you do that?" Athrun asked turning to face Nicol.

"Yeah if it helped out with the mission and making sure she was safe than why not."

"Thanks I'll do my best to keep the enemy off you."

XXXXX (the next day)

Onboard an EA frigate Frank smiled as the unit he got together followed the Archangel's signal.

"Sir is this really ok?" The second in command of the capture unit asked.

"What is?"

"That recording, your briefing to our pilot and a lot of other personnel. You're basically lying to everyone about what's actually going on."

"So what of it?"

"Sir?"

"It was by lying and stabbing others in the back that I got into this position, the only way to get to the top is by clearing other out of the way."

The second his stomach tighten as the vice Admiral continued.

"Anyone with a shred of common sense knows this it's how Southerland and the other Admirals got into their positions within the EA and it's how I'm gonna reach the position of Admiral and become a war Hero while doing it." Frank Williams declared as he began imagining how the military position would line his pockets and how the soon to be be title of Hero would bring him fame everlasting. Once the Coordinators were wiped or yielded and accepted the simple truth that the only reason they're alive was to serve Naturals he'd to enjoy indulging in luxury and young woman.

The second in command felt inwardly disgusted at his commanding officer's ambition as he could only wonder why people as corrupt as him wore allowed in such high positions within the EA.

XXXXX

"I can't believe we're really doing this." Sai said as he looked out the window of the Archangel and viewed 15 or 20 GINNS and a few CGUE the radar showed thirty units but not all of them were in front of the Archangel's bridge.

"Yeah if Zaft decides to turn on us we're gonna be in a really bad spot." Mirriallia replied.

"Ar-are we gonna be ok if that happens."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Callahan said trying to hide his worry. "Eric, you better be ok." He said to himself.

"Cut the chatter we're on our way to where High Judgment is likely hiding." Natarle said.

Many on the ship we're more than a little anxious about the overall situation. Having to put your trust in people who were the enemy any other day was more than a little unnerving especially when you had little to no ability to defend yourself should they ever decide to turn against you combined with the fact that they were the only real for of protection you had meaning if they failed at their role you'd be a sitting duck for the third party you were going after.

One couldn't blame anyone for whatever inner anxiety they were carrying. Time seemed to drag on as the Archangel and Zaft forces made their way closer to the asteroid where High Judgment was thought to hiding.

XXXXX

On board the Vesalius which was a couple of klicks ahead of the Archangel Athrun starred out the window of the ship's bridge off in distance the asteroid belt was starting to become visible.

'It won't be much longer before the mission starts. Lacus please be I Ok.' There was already a chance Kira was gone whether or not he was alive or dead Athrun did not know but if the case was the latter of the two scenarios would didn't want to Lacus to be added to the list of lost friends/family Kira alone was bad enough.

"All members of the La Cruset teams report to your assigned mobile suit's the mission will begin as soon as we're within firing range with our ships." A voice said over the intercom.

Athrun merely sighed before leaving the bridge 'Well let's get started.'

XXXXX

Both Eric and Lacus were startled by alarms suddenly going off throughout the facility they were being held at.

"What's going on?" Lacus asked.

"Judging by the Sirens I'd say either Zaft or the EA has shown up." 'So we might just get out this after all.' Since the time Lacus had insisted that they both hold on to hope of being rescued Eric had more or less taken her advice though he put his hope in the rescuers being Zaft since the EA being the rescuer would mean a dark future for Lacus.

Thinking about it now Eric began to wander if it was really alright to simply leave things to chance and bet on being rescued. While one of the biggest gambles was which of the two factions would be the one to actually reach them there were other factors to worry about such as if they could manage to get to the base itself since there were bound to be mobile suits from high judgment protecting the base and even if they did what assurance was their they'd be able to fight their past the gunman and get to the two teens or if they could even get the two teens out in the scenario where they did reach them.

And that wasn't taking the possibility of the would be saviors being eradicated by the enemy. Thinking about that Eric begin to wander who would be the victims. If it was Zaft that would likely mean the four pilot of the stolen Gundams along with their commander which would mean his friends and family potentially having a much safer trip back to Orb, that is if they'd simply head back but knowing the EA they would want to get the Hope even with how trashed it was at the moment curtesy of Barclay.

If the Archangel came at all they'd be eliminated hands down unless they brought reinforcements well into the hundreds in terms mobile armor pilots and by well he meant 400 to 500, while one would think these particular numbers were an exaggeration the fact the EA had outnumber Zaft 5 to 1 just to have a chance to win against GINNs which aside from DINNs was the most basic weapon in Zaft's arsenal as far as mobile suits went said a lot in terms of what the EA lacked in and that wasn't even taking into account that every High judgment pilot that showed up during the attack on the Archangel and Zaft ship were all using CGUE's which had significantly higher performances and adding I the fact that some of the said pilots had abnormal skills that even most of the best Zaft teams couldn't match the EA was going to need a 15 to 1 advantage against Eric and Lacus' captors.

While it was possible for the EA to conjure up such numbers since if there was one thing they had it was quantity Eric doubted they'd be able to muster a force big enough to ensure victory in a three day timespan. There was also the arrogance that the average high ranking EA officer tended to have. Eric actually found it pretty ridiculous that in spite of the massive quality disadvantage the EA had their higher still somehow managed to underestimate their opponents even after a year of it repeatedly biting them in their asses. Unfortunately as entertaining as the prospect of the EA's arrogance catching up with them would be odds were extremely likely the Archangel would be involved meaning the elimination of EA forces would mean the deaths of Kira, Sai, Mirriallia, Tolle, Kuzzy, Callahan and Abram, there was also Ramius and MU, while Eric wasn't a fan of their allegiances he had to admit (albeit reluctantly due to their allegiances) they were actually good people who didn't deserve death.

Simply put the elimination of EA forces meant the destruction of the Archangel which meant the deaths of Eric's friends and family meaning Eric would be left alone in the world. Fear suddenly took hold of Eric as he realized that his entire existence may just become unnecessary just like it was after the death of his blood family prior to being adopted by Abram. He couldn't let that happen, he'd join the EA himself before he allowed that to happen.

With this realization in mind Eric realized he and Laces needed to escape and they needed to now.

Getting up Eric making his way to the door and slightly opened it. Looking outside Eric heard multiple people running I the hall in both directions occasionally seeing one or two pass by the door swiftly, judging by the rush they were in Eric found it safe to assume the base was definitely about to be attacked.

"Eric what are you doing?" Lacus inquired a bit worried that Eric was going to do something rash.

"Getting us out of here." Eric said turning to Lacus and gently taking ahold of one of her hands to pull her up from the bed which she was sitting on. "I know this is a bit impulsive on my part but I really want to make sure we both get out of here and also that my friends and family are safe on the Archangel."

"But how will we leave?"

Lacus' question was a valid one neither of them knew anything about flying a ship and as far as mobile suit went Lacus never took any direct part in the war so it was a safe bet to say she didn't know how to pilot a mobile and while Eric knew how to pilot the Hope Gundam that was only because of the OS on it being simplified so that even a Natural could pilot it and Eric couldn't be sure whether the pilots of the High Judgment were Naturals or Coordinators, some of them displayed skill beyond the average Coordinator pilot their loyalty didn't lie with Zaft or the Plants so there wasn't a guarantee on anything as far of CGUE's OS programs went still that may have been the only chance of escape.

"Um Lacus do you know anything about OS systems in machines?"

"Um no but I'm certain I'd be able to figure it out. Why?"

"I have a plan to get us out of here now that we have the chance but I might need a little help from you depending on how the CGUE mobile suit's OS programs are set up."

"What do you mean?"

"If we were to get to one of the CGUE would you be able to rewrite it's OS so a Natural could pilot it if it's not set up like that already."

"It might take a few minutes but as I said before I should be able to figure it out."

"Good enough, we might have to do that."

"What are you planning."

"To sneak us into one of the CGUEs while everyone's scrambling to get to their stations and mobile suits." Eric said as the noise running from varies members of judgment died down. Looking outside Eric saw the hall was completely empty save for one guard at the end of one of the halls.

The said had their back turned to Eric. Sighing at the situation Eric slowly began making his towards the said. It wasn't too hard thanks to the sirens going off and concealing the sound of his footsteps against the metal flooring.

Looking the side of the guard Eric saw that their side arms hoister had no real indication of having a button holding it closed which likely meant a magnet is what did which meant Eric could snatch the gun from the hoister.

Once Eric had come within three quarters of a meter of the guard he broke into a run not bothering to keep his footsteps light so the guard wouldn't hear them over the alarms. By the time the guard had finally began to take notice of Eric he already had his hand around the guns handle and with a simple pull the pistol was out of its' hoister.

Quickly backing up a few steps so the guard could try to take the gun back and taking Eric quickly turned off the safety and fired into the guard's leg causing them to fall down to one knee before Eric rushed his and whacked him in the back of the head knocking him out.

He turned back to see Lacus stare in a mixture of shock and sadness.

"Don't worry he's only unconscious."

That seemed to lift Lacus' mood a bit probably from a sense of relief in knowing Eric didn't commit murder, it would make sense since she had made known before that she didn't want to see immerse himself in the slaughter of others sine it was extremely likely he would be consumed by the war and head down a path that Lacus and nobody else could follow.

"Anyway come on we need to get out of here while we have the chance."

"ok."

With that Lacus caught up with Eric and the two teens began looking for the hanger bay.

XXXXX

"Mam We've confirmed the presence of High Judgment they formed a line of around forty mobile suits." Sai announced.

Ramius and probably everyone else felt their stomach turn as cold as dry ice. Since the Archangel was next to defenseless and what little defense it did have would be less than effective the most they could do was shoot down a few I missiles if they weren't too high in number and maybe stall a mobile suit or two momentarily if they attempted to attack the ship directly and with two of its thrusters shot out limiting its maneuverability and speed so if the ship tried to retreat without a long term distraction it would be the equivalent to counting to three for the High Judgment mobile suits to chase it down and destroy it.

Not a single person on the ship was comfortable with the position they were in but understood all the same. Should Zaft forces lose or be forced to retreat the Archangel and everyone on it was doomed to oblivion making the term do or die rather literal here, in simple terms either the mission succeeded and the Crew lived the fight another day assuming Rue La Cruset didn't try anything like he did when Eric initially attempted to return Lacus to Zaft forces or it field and the asteroid belt would become the crew and refugees' grave.

This would truly be the hardest test of Ramius' leadership. She was worried for Mu La Flaga who decided to take directly to the battle field since his machine was repaired but she had to keep her focus on the battle at hand and have faith that the ace pilot of the EA would come back alive. Thanks to Rue La Cruset's proposition the Zaft forces would be doing all the fighting the Archangel's job was to monitor all positions of friend and foes and keep Zaft updated so they'd have some inquire of the enemy's movements so they could swiftly exploit any opening found in High Judgment's deployment and keep from leaving any of their own for the enemy to take advantage of while keeping their focus on fighting them.

The crew would have to make sure they were giving their all because even working with Zaft they were already at a numbers disadvantage and from the looks of it quality since most of the Zaft mobile suits of GINNs as opposed to High Judgment force who all had high performance CGUE's. Still it wasn't like there side was without any advantages three of the four stolen g weapons and on the subject Ramius had also taken notice that the Duel appeared to have been upgraded as it now had a railgun on one shoulder and a missile silo on the other, it was obvious Zaft decided to was the repairs from the damage of its previous clash with the Hope as on opportunity to increase its fighting prowess to further Zaft's superior tech level advantage over EA.

While the initial purpose of it wasn't exactly a cheery thought, the said upgrades were ultimately one of the few major factors that tipped the odds in joint forces favor so Ramius (And nobody if they had taken notice themselves) wasn't complaining.

Plus there was Mu. In spite of the fact he didn't have a mobile suit his Mobius Zero was still better than the EAs standard unit due to its superior speed (To the standard mobile armor unit) and four detachable gun barrels, that with the combination of Mu's piloting skills gave him the prowess that could even give the G weapons a run for their money so he'd definitely be able to hold his own.

"Mam the enemy is sending out two four man squads." One of the crewmen informed.

"Send the data to the Zaft fighters."

XXXXX

Ru smirked as he received the data about the enemy's move. 'So they want to test us. Well let's pass it with flying colors.' The Zaft commander thought before addressing his forces.

"Attention all forces the enemy has decided to start with two squads. I want two six unit to meet both one is two include the Duel and Buster while the other includes the Blitz and Athrun."

Yzak merely smiled in anticipation believing that the Fulfillment would soon be force to fight as soon as he took out all the small fires.

Dearka smirked having already picked with target to shoot down to ensure Yzak didn't getting overwhelmed because of his reckless habit of jumping head first into situations blindly.

Nicol merely tensed up and readied himself for the fight wanted to take out the squad of enemy CGUE's he and Athrun would be faced with so he could activate his mirage collide system and search for the enemy base and get Lacus out.

Athrun was more less in the same mind set as Nicol wanting to get this High Judgment squad out of the way quickly so he could cover Nicol while he looked for Lacus. While there was still some desire to take the fulfillment down Lacus's safety took priority.

"This is for kidnapping ms Clyne you traitorous bithes!" One of the Zaft GINN in Athun and Nicol's squad yelled out before firing their rifle at one of the CGUEs which swerved out of the Zaft pilot's line of fire before retorting.

"You're little songstress came to us of her own will dumbass and for the record no one in High Judgment ever believed in the Plants or Zaft's cause even amongst our Coordinator members so the term traitor doesn't really apply here."

"Dieeee." The GINN pilot yelled out attempted to adjust him aim to hit the CGUE only for to the maneuver around the GINN's line of fire in a spiral like formation before taking aim with its own rifle and firing hitting the GINN right in the cockpit.

Athrun opened up on the High Judgment mobile suit with both of his CGUE's Vulcan gun aim at the suit's chest area causing it to explode.

"Why you!" Another High Judgment pilot yelled out before pulling out a heavy sword and flew at Athrun who pulled out his suit's own heavy swords with his opponent.

The confrontation didn't last long however, while the enemy CGUE pilot was focused on Athrun Nicol climbed to a higher altitude and fired one of his lancer darts at the High Judgment suit blowing apart its head and upper body.

The remaining two CGUEs were about to open fire on the blitz but were quickly pelted by shots from the other three CGUE pilots forcing them to pull back.

"It looks like we took care of the first squad pretty fast." Nicol said.

"Yeah move ahead as much as we can without straying too far from the others." Athrun replied before glancing at the other fight. Dearka and Yzak were having a harder time of it.

All four GINNs in their squad had been destroyed and they only managed to take down one of the enemy CGUEs two of the remaining ones were engaged with close combat with the Duel which was evenly matched much to Yzak extreme annoyance if his constant screaming and line of insults was anything to go by thanks to the pilots using a pincer type attack. Basically the pilots would both get on opposite sides of Duel and attack at the same time. Every time the Duel tried to focus on one of them he'd leave his back exposed to the other forced him to keep from trying to Zero in on one of them since the other would utilize the opening that would be created' the overall result was Yzak's current stalemate with the two pilots.

Dearka wasn't doing much better while he was only faced with a single opponent the enemy in question was showing skill that was far above average pilot with the way they were holding their own even though Dearka had a better mobile suit. Both Dearka and the High Judgment pilot both traded fire but neither was never able to hit other and the CGUE pilot would occasionally try the close the distance between the two and use their heavy sword. Weather they weren't aware that the phase shift armor would keep the sword from doing any real damage or they thought they were going to break through by so some miracle was unclear but their attempts did manage to put Dearka in an uncomfortable position since his suit possessed know close combat weapons whatsoever so up close and personal combat wasn't doing Dearka any more good than it did the High Judgment pilot.

"Athrun maybe we should help them out." Nicol said.

"You don't need to tell me twice."

XXXXX

Entering the docking area of the base Barclay glanced over at Rook who was wearing most of a space suit save the helmet.

"So what's the current situation?"

"From the looks of it the EA and Zaft have decided to conduct a joint mission. Though the overwhelming majority of their forces some to be from the latter's side."

"So the legged ship wasn't able to get any help of their own. I suspect that whoever they may have went to have underestimated us."

"They pay dearly for that if that's the case." Greyson said from inside a CGUE.

"We'll show them their errors in time but for now let us focus on destroying the intruders."

"They're actually putting up a better fight than we had anticipated to some extent." Rooks said drawing Barclay's attention back to him before putting his helmet continuing.

"We've sent out two squads to test them out and they swiftly destroyed one but are making slower progress with the other group."

Barclay then glanced at a monitor on the docking area's wall showing the fight between the remaining squad and two of the stolen Gundams.

"I see I'll be ready to launch in the Fulfillment if these Zaft pilots proved to be worth my time but only then."

"Don't worry we'll make sure you don't have to waste your time on weaklings." Grayson announced before dismounting his mobile from the wall as the entrance doors to the docking area opened revealing the vacuum of space and the fighting on around thirty meters away. Engaging his thrusters Greyson quickly exited the base and took to the said vaccume.

Barclay then set his gaze on the Hope Gundam also mounted to the wall. Since the time, it had been brought in its cockpit had been reassembled and its chest area restored save for the module that allow its heightened performed and the shoulder cannon the Barclay cut in half. Its DNA lock had been removed along with its battle data and the data recorder so it could accumulate anymore even if it took to the field.

"Tell our forces to keep sending out small squads a free for all is to much of a gamble unlike the last time we don't have the element of surprise so we can't be carless."

"Understood. I launch afterwards." Rooks Replied.

XXXXX

'Dammit which way is the hanger bay?' Eric thought in frustration as him and Lacus continued to try and navigate their way through the base's halls and corridors. While he and Lacus were initially allow to exit their shared quarters during the last two days they weren't allow to ever go beyond the first hallway and the only door that was ever unlocked aside from the room they were kept in was a door leading or a bathroom.

To make matters more complicated there were still guards in some of the halls keeping the two teens from using certain paths. Something was telling Eric that the areas that were still kept under surveillance were the ones that lead to the docking area. With all the alarms going off it was a safe bet to assume that the base was under attack and if that was the case then it would be logical for the personal to be gathering at the dicking bay so they could launch in whatever mobile suits they had to fight off the enemy.

Still that would ultimately impede Eric Lacus' escape.

"Eric there's a door open over here." Lacus said causing Eric to see what she was referring too. Indeed one of the doors were left open and around the same moment frantic footsteps could be heard coming from another nearby hall and from the increase in volume odds were they were headed in the two teen's direction. Since there was nowhere else to hide themselves the pop idol and pilot went into the door and closed in behind them.

They anxiously listened as the footsteps continued to advance closer and closer until both teens could say without a doubt whoever the footsteps belonged to had made it to the hallway they were previously in mere moments ago, both held their breaths as whoever was on the outside come closer to their door.

Eric could only pray they didn't come into the room he and Lacus were hiding. If that happened he likely wouldn't to fight his way out considering from the number of footsteps he heard there was more than a single rifleman out there.

Anxiety was soon replaced with relief when the guards passed by the room and left the hallway. Sighing Eric soon looked to where Lacus was standing and by some off chance noticed a computer monitor in the room displaying specs of a mobile suit from the looks of it the mobile suit in question seemed to be a Gundam.

Walking closure Eric realized it was a schematic of the Hope, reading over the text Eric discovered High Judgment had been repairing it during the time they had held him and Lacus at the facility and if the report was correct then the Hope had been restored to operational status again thanks to the High Judgment mechanics working around the clock. Other then it's missing arm and leg as well as one of its shoulder cannons the Hope had practically been restored. On the downside it turned out that High Judgment decided to remove the DNA lock allowing essentially anyone to pilot it and on top of they found whatever module allow the Hope to use the HI systems and that it was too damaged to be repaired.

Eric was conflicted about. Essentially anyone could get into the cockpit of his machine now which was something the EA would likely take full advantage of but at least with the Hope's heightened performance capabilities gone the use anyone could get out of was limited.

Still without the HI system Eric would have to avoid any type of clash of Barclay even if he got to the Hope. Closing the tab Eric was greeted with a map showing the layout of the entire base.

"What did you find?" Lacus inquired looking at the monitor that Eric had his attention on.

"Our way out." Eric answered before turning to Lacus.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you but can you look over this map, you'll be able to familiarize yourself with it faster than I will." Eric admitted honestly.

"Of course, if it helps us escape then I'll gladly do so."

XXXXX

"This has dragged out long enough!" Yzak yelled out as he closed in on the last remaining enemy CGUE and sliced it in half with his beam saber.

"Man thanks for the save. I thought we were in trouble for a second." Dearka said grateful for Athrun and Nicol's intervention.

"You're welcome but we got to get ready for the next group of enemies." Athrun said before turning and seeing another group of black and red CGUE's coming their way.

Rue who was hanging back was sent the data of the enemy movements from the Archangel and smirked.

"So the enemy's avoiding any reckless moves. Meaning the first side to exhaust all their mobile suits will be the one to fall." Rue said to himself as he realized Barclay or whoever was commanding their side was no fool, while they had the advantage they understood that a single wrong move would be all that was needed to turn the tide of the entire battle into the EA and Zaft's favor.

Well if they wanted to play it strategically then Rue would do the same.

"I want the two squads to link up and for another six man squad to join them as they advance to engage the next enemy group."

Yzak who had taken noticed of the absence of the Fulfillment and let the irritation from it cloud his judgment.

"Dammit Fulfillment come out!" Yzak yelled engaging his thrusters and flying ahead of the others.

"Yzak what are you doing!?" Athrun yelled out.

"Shut up I'm gonna force out the bastard who denied me my revenge against the Hope!" Yzak screamed out before firing his railgun forcing the enemy squad to scatter and flying by them in the direction of High judgment's reserve troops.

As the Zaft red got closer to the reserve line he taken notice of an opening in one of the larger asteroid and realized it was a docking area.

"If that bastard won't come out and face me then I'll hunt him down and kill him inside his own base."

Yzak was surprised when he got a response however it was from one of his teammates.

"Sorry to disappoint you but Barclay doesn't have the time to waste on small fry like you." Said the voice of a boy who sounded like they were around Yzak's age before the Duel's alarms went off alerting Yzak to an incoming beam which he swiftly dodged.

Looking in the direction it came Yzak saw one of the enemy CGUE's holding their rifle at the ready.

"What did you say?"

"You're not worth Barclay's time."

"You must really have a death wish if you're running your mouth to me of all people." Yzak roared firing his own rifle which the CGUE dodged.

"It's not like you're someone worth respecting." The CGUE pilot retorted before returning fire.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Grayson Landry and the guy who's gonna put your ass down for good."

"In case you haven't noticed I have a better machine than you."

"The specs of the machine don't mean anything when it has a shitty pilot."

"Now I'm gonna kill you first!" Yzak yelled pulling of his beam saber and trying to cut the CGUE in half only for Greyson to dodge via diving under the slash and follow with a quick draw for his suit's heavy sword and swinging it at the Duel's hand.

Yzak Almost laughed at the attempt at a counter attack until Greying pivoted his weapon at the last possible second and cut through the part of the beam saber handle that was still exposed rending the weapon useless.

Back with the rest of their Forces Rue La Cruset sighed, it seemed that Yzak was letting his scared pride rule over him now, thanks to his recklessness the other Zaft reds were left to engage the enemy unit themselves and thanks to the confusion caused by the Duel's pilot the enemy had gained the upper hand.

Seeing no other option since the front formation was broken down Rue gave the obvious order. "All units engage all hostiles.

XXXXX

"Please hurry we may not have much time left." Lacus said leading Eric towards the docking area.

It seemed that during the time they were going over the bases layout the number of guards had been reduced. Eric could only guess that whatever fight was going on outside was becoming more and more urgent forcing the guards to divert their attention to it.

Soon Eric and Lacus found themselves at a hall with no doors save for one on the opposite end of where they were and another to their right side also hanging open revealing a space suit hanging on various racks.

"The Docking area and the Hope should be through the door ahead of us."

"Alright let's get the space suit on you first if the docking area's other hatch is open then there won't be any oxygen in it."

"But what about you?" Lacus asked in worry.

"Don't worry if we can get to the Hope fast enough I'll make it the cockpit will fill with oxygen once we're inside."

"OK." Lacus said entering the other room and getting into the space suit as fast as she could.

XXXXX

Walking through the halls of the base a group of guards were heading back to the location where Eric and Lacus were being held to have them taken to the docking area to be transferred to High Judgment's main HQ as soon as more ships arrived to evacuate everyone from the base.

"Hold up." One of the gunman said as the noticed the guard assigned to keep watch over the two was laying on the ground unconscious.

Running over to the downed man guard the rifleman took notice of the bullet hole in his leg and immediately ran over to the room where the two teens were supposed to be kept only to find the room empty.

"Contact Barclay and let him know that the prisoner and study subject has escaped!"

XXXXX

"Alright I'm finished." Lacus said.

"Let's head the dock area and get out of here." Without waiting for a reply Eric went to the door leading to the docking area and inhaled as much air as his lungs were able to contain. Before opening the door.

Inside there were a few CGUE's still mounted to the wall but what garnered the two escapees' attention the most was the Fulfillment standing in at the other end of the docking bay facing the opened bay doors where mobile suits would enter and exit the base from.

Out of curiosity Eric and Lacus decided to looked ahead to where the Fulfillment was facing and were greeted be the sight of various explosions, on that same note Eric also seen what looked like an upgraded Duel fighting with one of the CGUE's.

"Dammit why won't you just die?!" Yzak's enraged voice yelled out as a newly added missile silo on the Duel's shoulder opened up.

"Because I have a goal that I gotta see carried out one way or the other and I'm not failing because of a weakling who probably puts too much confidence in his genes."

"Go to hell!" Yzak yelled out as he was about to shoot the missiles off only for the CGUE pilot who Eric guessed was Greyson if the sound of their voice was anything by to close the distance between the two of them and thrust his heavy sword right into one of the missiles causing them to explode right inside the silo before the rest of the explosive projectiles followed suit resulting in a massive explosion that threw the CGUE back a couple meters disintegrating almost half of its heavy sword in the process.

The Duel was left in even worse condition as its entire arm was blown off and its head was nearly severed hanging on only be a single cable to make matters worse the Gundam's phase shift armor had lost power and the mobile suit was quickly losing its coloration.

Yzak seemed doomed when Greyson charged him intending to cut his machine in half with the remainder of his CGUE's heavy sword. Eric had to admit Greyson was a deadly and dangerous pilot if this fight was anything to go by, he may need to make it a point to avoid a fight with the High Judgment ace pilot along with Barclay during his getaway with Lacus. On the Brightside if Greyson killed the Duel's pilot it would mean one less Gundam to worry about on the way back to Orb.

However as fate would have it the Duel wouldn't be destroyed just yet as a blast suddenly came between the two mobile suits forcing the CGUE to pull back.

"Hang on Yzak I'll get you back to the Vesalius." Another voice said before the buster showed up and grabbed ahold of the Duel before pulling it back towards Zaft forces.

"Dammit I still need to take down the Fulfillment!"

If Eric hadn't been forced to hold his breath because of the lack of an external air supply we would have sighed in pity for the Duel's pilot, if that moran actually believed he could stand up to the Fulfillment let alone win then he was seriously delusional to the point that it was practically pitiful.

Still Eric didn't have time to keep spectating the fight going on outside. Quickly following where Lacus was leading him Eric soon spotted the Hope on the left wall just behind the Fulfillment's line of sight, it was more or less in the condition the monitor Eric had found before said it was in, its two limps were still gone along with one of the twin shoulder cannons but the chest area was restored. Luckily for the two teens there actually weren't that many personal present in the docking probably because most of them had launched in CGUEs to fight off the Zaft forces.

Thanks to the Zero gravity environment getting to the Hope's torso wasn't hard but the hatch was closed. Luckily Eric already knew where the switch to open it was, glancing at the Fulfillment Eric was glad to see it was still observing the fight going on outside if he and Lacus were noticed now it would all be over.

Time seemed to slow down as the Cockpit opened and it didn't particularly help matters that Eric's lungs were nearing their limit. Eric couldn't allow himself to pass out here, if he did he'd likely die and Lacus would have to try and figure out how to pilot it. Odds were pretty high she could Lacus was a Coordinator and that combined with the Hope's simplified OS system would likely make it easy enough for Lacus to figure out how the flight systems initially worked however she'd be attack by Barclay the second he realize the suit was being operated and if that happened.

Eric's train of thought became hazy and his vision darkened of blurred. 'No not here.' He thought struggling to stay conscious

"Come on we need to hurry and get you inside." Lacus said turning to Eric who was now floating limp in the air. The Songstress's eyes became wide with horror as Eric's pupils become more and more dilated as life slowly drained from them.

"Hold on!" Lacus said pulling Eric inside the Hope before getting in herself and looking around frantically for the switch to close the hatch. Her mind was in a full blown panic right now with the knowledge that she probably had less than a minute before Eric passed on. In the short time she had known him Lacus had come to care for Eric greatly she admired his protective nature of his friends which drove him to act as their shield even if he had to swallow down working with the EA as a volunteer and his kind nature as a whole, even though she was a Coordinator and Eric a Natural he still accepted her as a friend in spite of the difference in their genes without a second thought and he didn't view Coordinators as an enemy or a horde of monsters.

While Eric could also become vengeful if his killing Garcia was anything to go Lacus still held faith that he wouldn't go down a path others couldn't follow. None of that would matter if he died here.

Lacus found herself snapped out of her train of thought when she noticed Eric's arm desperately reaching for a lever on the ceiling of the cockpit. While the songstress wasn't sure if the level Eric was reaching for was the correct one it was her only hope for saving her recent friend's life.

Reaching up Lacus grabbed a hold of the lever and rotated it counter clock wise. Much to her relief the hatch began to close. The second felt like hours as the hatch drew ever closer to its closed positon. As soon as it was in place and a clicking sound was heard whish was likely and indication that it had locked and sealed itself the cockpit immediately filled with air and within the following moments Eric could be heard wheezing as he took in as much air as he could.

"Eric! Thank goodness I thought I lost you!" exclaimed Lucas throwing her arms around Eric's shoulders on the verge of tears.

"You're okay you're okay." The pink Harobot chimed

"I-it's alright." Eric said wrapping one arms around Lacus. He had to say he was relieved that Lacus closed the Hope's hatch when she did, had the songstress been a few more moments late things would have gone differently. Since they didn't Eric had more determination to get himself and the pop idle off the base safely now after coming so far.

He couldn't let things end in failure after everything he went through from getting off Heliopolis to meeting Barclay and soon escaping he'd get Lacus go to the Plants and out of the EA's hands and head to Orb with his younger foster brother and father in toe. If he had any regret it was that the EA would get ahold of the Hope but at least they wouldn't get ahold of Shirou's final creation, still Eric knew that Shirou would have wanted it put to use but there'd be no point if it was used to further the EA's oppressional/genocidal complain against the Plants Shirou built the Hope Gundam as the first step towards and a better future and the designs for his last creation should be used for the same purpose.

Eric's thought process stopped when an idea suddenly came to mind and he reached into was pocket and pulled out the flash drive that the specs from the disk he found before in the Hope's cockpit were transferred to.

"Here take this." Eric said placing the flash drive in the confused Lacus' hand.

"What is it?"

"You know how Shirou created my machine right?"

"I learned as much listening to you and Barclay talk during the meeting with him, why?"

"Well this machine was the last thing Shirou made before he died but it is actually the prototype for an even more powerful machine that he never got around to making." Eric said before continuing.

"I'm not entirely sure what it will be capable of if and when its made but I think it'll be in good hands with you."

"But if Shirou left this with you shouldn't you be the one to have it?"

"Shirou built the Hope Gundam with the aim of it being used to carve the way to better future. The weapon he designed stored on that flash drive should be used for the same thing."

"Shouldn't that be all the more reason for you to have it?"

"I plan on going to Orb with my family until this war comes to an end and I don't have the means to construct it plus I don't want to give this to the Earth Alliance since they'd just use it to go on a killing spree so I would rather give it to you."

Lacus remained silent unsure of whether or not she wanted to accept Eric's gift or not. While Eric's reasoning likely held a lot of truth what he gave the songstress was undoubtedly a weapon used for killing. While Lacus knew the Plant's needed to be protected and supported Zaft's cause it didn't mean she desired to see EA soldiers die or contribute to their deaths.

"I'm not asking you to use it on anyone per say but I think you can ensure its used to pave the way to a better future if you decided to do so like Shirou would have wanted and if you don't want it made you can even get rid of it."

"If that is how you feel then I'll definitely make sure it's not used simply for needless slaughter."

"That's all I can ask of you."

Eric said starting up the Hope's systems up and the main camera started up revealing the outside only for the two occupants of the Hope to be greeted with a sight that made them go cold.

The Fulfillment was essentially standing in the same position it was in previously but only now its head was no longer facing the battle outside which appeared to have broken down into a disorganized free for all its white eye sensor was now gazing at the Hope.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice what you we're trying to do?"

Eric stayed silent as Barclay continued. "It was merely a matter of waiting for you to come here in order to find you."

"Wait you mean…?"

"Yes I was informed of you attempt to flee from here a short while ago." Barclay said as the Fullfillment's entire body turn to face the Hope.

"As valiant as your efforts were they end here." Barclay declared pulling out a short beam rifle with a wide barrel, likely a grenade launcher mounted to the bottom of it.

"I'd rather not kill you here without having you studied but I will if I must."

At this Eric suddenly remembered Shirou's announcement at the end of their previous meeting. "Why are you so interested in having me dissected I'm just a typical Natural."

"Perhaps but your connection to the X8 colonies gives way to a different possibility altogether."

Before Eric could try to question Barclay's motives further a javelin like object suddenly flew in the docking area at the Fulfillment which took the hit with its fore arm which resulted in some damage to the Armor around the said arm before aiming its rifle outside and sending off a grenade made a wide explosion causing the Blitz to manifest itself (or disengaged its mirage collide system) which had one less lancer dart.

Without a word the Fulfillment engaged its thrusters and took to the vastness of space as the Blitz pulled back whilst firing its beam rifle. Barclay quickly took aim but suddenly flew to the side dodging an attack from a Zaft CGUE wielding a heavy sword.

"Where's Lacus!?" Yelled Athrun from the Zaft CGUE in question socking both teens.

Eric regained his composure quickly as he realized it actually made sense for Athrun to be using a CGUE at the moment. Considering Lacus was his fiancé and someone he cared about greatly it was given he'd want to join the battle and save her but he needed a mobile suit for that particular task. One problem that would have to have been addressed was the lack of the Aegis Gundam since it was currently lacking any limbs so he would undoubtedly need a temporary replacement and a CGUE was the obvious choice for obvious reasons.

Still he and the Blitz pilot were up against the Fulfillment which meant they'd likely lose the fight, while that meant to enemies pursuing the Archangel would be go new ensuring the safety of those on board it also made it that much more difficult to return Lacus to the Plants and while there was an all out battle going just outside the base this may have been Eric's only chance to do so.

Switching to an open channel Eric quickly called out to the two Zaft pilots. Athrun, Blitz if either of you two can hear me I have Lacus with me I need to return her now."

The first of the two to respond was Nicol. "As much as I wish to get her back for the sake of my friend I'm kind of busy right now." Nicol said firing his second to last lancer dart which was promptly dodged before the fulfillment tried to counter with its own Rifle before Athrun at it and attempted to stab the long range armament with his heavy sword only for the Fulfillment to pull the rifle away from the blade whilst using its other hand to draw one its beam axes before bringing it and cutting the heavy sword in half and following up with a downward slash severing the right arm at the elbow of Athrun CGUE.

The Zaft ace immediately pulled back only for Barclay to take aim with his rifle and fire at him forcing him to pull to the left avoiding completely obliteration but at the cost of the remainder of the his CGUE's right arm.

Barclay then charged at Athrun who in turn pulled out his mobile suit's rifle and fired only for the Fulfillment to maneuver around to line of fire and raise its axe seemingly intent on cutting the CGUE to two vertical halves however when it got close enough to deliver the blow it swung its weapon to the side cutting a lancer dart fired from the Blitz in half from one tip to the other.

"Nice try but you won't to pull the same trick twice." Barclay said swinging his beam axe back around horizontally with the expectation of finishing Athrun off only for it to be block by a violet colored saber from another Zaft CGUE which was thrown back from the collision of weapons due to the difference in raw power between the Fulfillment and itself.

"CO-Commander!" Athrun exclaimed in relief that his life was saved curtesy of Rue La Cruset.

"Athrun hurry and retrieve ms Clyne from the Hope,"

"What?" The Bluenette asked in confusion before Nicol spoke to him.

"Athrun don't you remember that Raglan guy offered to return her while we were fighting the blue mobile suit.

Looking back Athrun did remember something about Eric saying he'd return Lacus but at the time he was too focused on Barclay to notice of that.

Turning back towards the Hope still standing at the entrance Athrun hailed it over the radio and got a quick response.

"Hurry and get Lacus while you have the chance!" Eric yelled out and got a reply only it wasn't from Athrun.

"Our commander made it clear that neither of you two were leaving here." The voice of Rooks said as a High Judgment CGUE came up behind the Hope with an amber colored beam saber in hand but was force to stop in its tracks when Athrun opened fired on it with his rifle.

"Go, head to the Vesalius we'll inform them that you're bringing Lacus back."

"Alright." With that Eric engaged the Hope's thrusters and activated its phase shift armor and began making his way to the Zaft ship while he wasn't sure whether they would simply let him leave or use this as an opportunity to take him prisoners and his Gundam for study and use by use by another pilot he didn't know but if that did indeed happen he could take solace in knowing Lacus would be safe and that nothing of Shirou's would ever be used for the benefit of the EA.

The only downside was that Eric wouldn't be able to ensure the safety of his family and friends and would have no way of knowing if they made it to Orb safely or died. Still between choosing to protect them and Lacus the latter took priority for him especially since the former was better suited to fight their way out of any bad situation and even if they failed they'd have a more merciful end compared to whatever type of culmination Lacus would receive by the EA's hands or at least that was Eric's reasoning for his decision between who he wanted to protect, though he felt that deep inside there was something more egging it on.

Regardless of any would be scenario that had the potential of gaining any type of authenticity or the reasoning behind any course of action Eric's current task was pretty much straightforward. Flying through the battle field Eric saw Zaft and High judgment forces engaging all throughout the area and unfortunately the former of the two sides was the one who was actually forced to play things defensively behind stay asteroids for cover and stay close to one of the Zaft Nazca class ships so they could lay down suppressive fire holding the enemy back.

One other difference Eric notice with this fight from the previous one with High Judgment was that none of the enemy suits seemed to be using that inhuman skill and precision that they had utilized against the Archangel, Strike, and Mobius Zero. While that was rather odd and counterproductive on the enemy's part but he wasn't going to complain about something that evened the odds for Zaft forces.

The Vesalius was quickly within Eric's sights and he was about to make to make a beeline for it before another member of High Judgment contacted him over an open channel.

"I will not allow you to escape, that machine is mine now and you and that idiot idol are Barclay's to do with what he wishes!" Greyson yelled out before ramming his CGUE's elbow into the Hope.

"We're not dying by Barclay's hand!" Eric said putting more power in the Hope's thruster only for Greyson to do the same and send his CGUE's fist into the back of the Hope's torso causing the cockpit to rattle violently. Eric instinctively wrapped one around Lacus to keep her from being rammed into any of the cockpit walls since she wasn't strapped into the seat before the rattling stopped and Eric tried to use the opportunity to increase his speed again.

Unfortunately Greyson was having none of it and gave chase and fired one of Vulcan gun at the Hope. While the round did no damage due to the phase shift armor they did rattle the Hope stopping the Hope's increased output and forcing Eric wrap an around Lacus again.

'Dammit if it just me I could at least fight back but doing that here could get Lacus hurt.' Eric thought as frustration further took hold. The only sense of relief was that Greyson wasn't using his beam rifle for some reason. Unbeknownst to Eric the reason behind Greyson's refraining from the use of any damage effective weapons was because he was trying to rattle the cockpit of the Hope Gundam enough to render Eric unconscious so he could capture him along with Lacus and the Hope itself.

Greyson flew at the Hope readying the CGUE's fist once again before he was suddenly shot with a beam from behind. Looking behind him he saw the orange four-barrel mobile armor from the attack on the EA's new ship.

It wasn't long before it passed by the Hope's line of sight confusing both teens currently in its cockpit before contacting it over the radio.

"Raglan head back to the Archangel so we can all get out of here."

"I can't go back yet."

"Wh-oh the pink princess. Hurry and hand her over to one of the Zaft pilots so we can get out of here. we may have a little back up from Zaft but thanks to that hothead who has the Duel everything's fallen apart."

"Alright." Eric said continuing his course for the Zaft ship.

XXXXX

"I see you possess some skill, certainly more than these pathetic Zaft reds." Barclay said as he parried a blow from Rue La Cruset's beam saber with his beam axe pushing the CGUE back a few meters before taking aim with his rifle and shooting off a grenade which Rue shot while it was still on a course for him causing it to explode before while he was still out of range.

"You're not too bad yourself but I should expect no less after seeing your performance against the Hope' Strike' and Aegis." Rue replied before firing his own rifle which Barclay easily dodged before returning firing forcing the Zaft commander to take cover behind an asteroid.

"One has to wonder though, what made you so interested in the Hope's pilot that you decided to appear simply for the sake of doing battle with him?" Rue la Cruset asked.

"To test his abilities as well as the abilities of that machine." Barclay said before firing a beam at the asteroid and forcing out Rue who tried to charge him with his beam saber only for Barclay to parry the blow and push him back before firing his rifle and forcing Rue La Cruset to dodge the beam before continuing his answer to his opponent's inquiry.

"That mobile suit unlike the other five wasn't built by the EA and Ord but rather by a man who was intent on opposing me."

"Shirou am I correct?"

"I see you gathered information from listening to me and Raglan's exchange when we had fought a few days ago, and yes you are indeed correct. That machine had the chance of being I threat to what I intend to achieve and Raglan may have more to him than he's aware of."

"What do you mean?" Rue ask his curiosity peaked instead of a verbal response he was suddenly sent coordinates to an unknown location.

"If you wish to know more head to this location, but for right now it would seem uninvited guests has shown up."

Rue wandered what Barclay was referring to but soon got his answer when another voice spoke over the radio addressing everyone on the battle field.

"Attention all vessels of Zaft, Archangel and the group calling themselves High Judgment this is vice admiral Frank Williams of the Earth Alliance's lunar base you are all hereby order to surrender. We'll be taking custody of your ships, mobile suit and all other data you have in your possession. You're have five minutes to comply."

Everyone looked to see a unit of about twelve EA frigates each carrying twelve mobile armors making the total number of EA pilots one hundred forty two.

Both masked commanders simply smirked.

"Since you've decided to focus your efforts on getting rid of the overconfident nuisance I'll have my forces do the same." Rue declared.

"Very well." Barclay used an open channel to address all his forces.

"All remaining High Judgment members are ordered to cease their engagement with Zaft forces and destroy the EA fleet."

"All Zaft forces are ordered to do the same." Rue declared.

XXXXX

On board the Archangel everyone on the bridge was confused and shocked beyond belief.

"Contact vice the vice Admiral now!" Exclaimed Ramius.

"Wh-why are the EA trying to arrest us? We're on their side." Kuzzy said.

"It doesn't matter we just have to clear things up with them." Callahan said.

After a few minutes, had passed the vice admiral's face was displayed on the Archangel's main monitor.

"Vice admiral Williams why are you ordering us to surrender? We're part of the EA just like you!" Ramius exclaimed.

"You've put the wellbeing of the EA's newest ship the Strike at risk by taking matters into your own hands with this reckless act."

Ramius' eyes widened. "What? You refused us any reinforcements and left us on our own!"

Williams arrogantly smirked as he replied. "Then I guess I'll have to play the recording of our last exchange to disprove that." The vice admiral said as he played the altered version that his men made. Ramius and Natarle's eyes became wide as saucers as the fake recording played out.

Out of the two commanding officers Ramius was the first to voice her disapproval.

"You know that's not what happened."

"You can say that all you want but the audio speaks for itself." The vice admiral declared before cutting the link.

"You've gotta to be kidding me. That bastard set us up?" Ramius asked.

"What's our next course of action."

"We're gonna have to work with the Zaft and High judgment forces until we've rescued Raglan and retrieved the Hope."

XXXXX

"I had a feeling that guy wasn't trust worthy after he left us hanging but to think he'd try to pull something like this off." Mu said to no one in particular as a hoard of mobile armors began pouring out of frigates.

"Well I guess we'll just have to fight with Zaft and High Judgment for the time being."

XXXXX

The Hope landed in the docking bay of the Vesalius and was surprised and relieved that no one had immediately opened fired on him. His only guess for that reason was that Rue La Cruset or someone else had let the personnel no he was coming to give back Lacus.

"Eric please promise me you won't allow yourself to be consumed by the fires of this war." Lacus suddenly said confusing Eric.

"Ok but I already promised that before."

"I know but….." Lacus said but stopped unsure of how to continue.

The pinkette was taken by surprise when Eric suddenly embraced her.

"Lacus its okay, I appreciate your concern for me and no matter what happens I won't become a hate driven monster. And also, once this war is over I'd like to come to Plants to see you again."

"Of course, I would love that."

"Then I'll definitely come see you again." Eric said before inhaling as much air as he could before opening the Hope's hatch letting Lacus out.

'Good bye Lacus.'

After closing the hatch Eric immediately left the ship and headed out to deal with EA forces. He wouldn't aim for the absolute genocide of the unit since it would sadden Lacus but there he's shoot down as many as it took for them to back off and stop coming after his friends and family.

Luckily most of the Hope's armaments aside from one of the twin shoulder cannons and Gatling gun were still available.

Back onboard the Vesalius Lacus glance at the flash drive Eric had given to her. 'Eric I promise I won't allow this to be used by those who simply seek to prolong this needless war.'

XXXXX

"These fuckers wanna butt in then they're gonna pay the price." Greyson declared as he shot two mobile armors down with his rifle before using the Vulcan on his CGUE's other arm to take out another.

"I know you're not pleased that we've essentially lost Shirou's machine as well as its pilot and the Plant's idol but that doesn't mean you won't be able to help realize Barclay's ideals. For now let us destroy the EA forces." Rooks said as he used each of his machines Vulcan guns to take two mobile armors each.

XXXXX

Barclay flew through the battle field shooting down Mobile armors two twin rifles as he made his way to the EA frigate ships, since the time the EA fleet had shown up he switched his beam axe out for the second beam rifle which was mostly identical to the first one however the barrel on the bottom was a much lighter shade of silver than the one on the first rifle and was visibly narrower in fact too narrow to launch a mobile suit type grenade.

If one were wander what use the second barrel had however they wouldn't have to wait very long to find out. The moment the Fulfillment was in range it took aim with the second rifle and shot out a projectile in the form of a silver metal sphere. Anyone who wasn't a member of High Judgment likely would have found Barclay's action to be completely idiotic seeing as a single physical round would do anything to a frigate.

However anyone with that particular belief would have proven wrong when the sphere generated a massive sized glowing around itself that seemed to encase a chunk of the frigate's side. This on its own did nothing to harm the ship however within the blink of an eye the field around the sphere retraced towards it and disappeared along with the sphere itself, this wasn't what shocked everyone once it was said and done but rather that after the fact the chunk of the Frigate's side which was incased in the field was gone leaving a gaping hole in its side.

It didn't help matters that the newly made gap had spread more than halfway to the other side rendering the ship unable to support itself and as a result it began breaking in half.

XXXXX

On board the main EA frigate the watched a in shock as one of their Frigates went down.

"The ship, somebody better have answers and I mean now!" screamed out Williams his confidence now greatly reduced.

"I don't all we can say for sure is that whatever that blue mobile suit shot sucked everything around into one location."

"Would do you mean, what type of weapon does something like that?"

"An implosion grenade. A unique weapon found only on the Fulfillment." Said Barclay over an open channel.

The word or name to be precise "Fulfillment." caught Frank Williams attention. Back when Ramius had informed him of what had happened when the Archangel had first crossed path with High Judgment she mentioned a blue mobile suit called the Fulfillment which displayed prowess beyond what even the G weapons were capable of but at the time the Vice Admiral had arrogantly jumped to the conclusion that a good enough sized squad of Armors could capture or destroy it.

Seeing what it did to one of the other Frigates with a single projectile. Williams was now beginning to see just how badly he underestimated this organization when he failed to heed any of Ramius' warnings.

Fear took hold as reality set in and only increased further when the Fulfillment shot another implosion grenade in between two other frigates that were in close enough proximity that the field that projectile created caught the sides of both leaving two gaping holes that did enough damage to cause both ship life support and propulsion systems to go offline rendering them useless and inoperable.

"Sir we've lost contact with both allied ships and almost half of our mobile armor units have been shot down and those remaining are quickly being picked apart one after another."

The second in command of the EA lunar base fleet deiced to speak up.

"Sir we should retreat while we're still able to."

The Vice Admiral scowled anger now clouding his judgment. "After waiting so long for this opportunity to come along? There's no way in hell we're stopping now when fame and fortune are right around the corner and you expect me to pass that up besides we still got plently of ships left?"

'You're seriously still thinking about glory after what's happened? If the blue mobile suit keeps up its killing spree our ships will become zero pretty quick!' The second in command thought.

"Have all mobile armors focus on destroying that blue mobile suit, once it's out of the way we'll simply mop up the rest."

'Dammit having our do that will leave their backs exposed to every other enemy here, you're going to get everyone here killed needlessly!' The second in command thought as he reluctantly repeated the order to everyone else on the bridge.

XXXXX

"The Fulfillment…. It took out those three frigates like it was nothing!" Sai exclaimed.

"Does that mean we're all gonna die?!" exclaimed Kuzzy.

"Calm down we're not in on Frank Williams plot' as things stand now he's the enemy not us." Ramius said wanting to maintain order where fear and panic were beginning to take hold. It wasn't exactly hard to understand; back when Barclay had initially attacked Eric it had quickly became apparent that his Fulfillment was more powerful than any of the G weapons but seeing what he was doing to the EA fleet it now become apparent he was just toying with Eric at the time.

When the attack on the High Judgment base Ramius had hoped Zaft would be able to take the Fulfillment down, but seeing it in action now she realized had the Archangel and Zaft forces engaged it and the Fulfillment fought seriously they'd all be dead.

XXXXX

Barclay only chuckled as groups of mobile armors threw themselves at him. Many of them were being shot down by Zaft and High judgment mobile suits those that weren't were shot down by the Fulfillment's beams rifles.

"If you think your numbers can help you allow me to crush such optimism." Barclay declared as he decided to released twenty five seed shaped guns called funnel to deal with multiple enemies.

Once the funnels began firing upon their intended targets the EA mobile armors that weren't shot down by mobile suits met their ends by the multiple gun barrels.

XXXXX

Eric who was watching the entire spectacle from the Hope could only stare in shock, he had personally gone up against it before and found out just how strong it was or so he thought but seeing it single handedly (Save for mobile armors being shot down by Zaft and High Judgment mobile suits) tear up an entire EA fleet Eric had to wander how in the world he even held up as long as he did. He could only whatever machine would be created from the specs on the flash drive he gave Lacus was powerful enough stand up to the Fulfillment.

Eric found himself snapped out of his train of thought when Mu La Flaga contacted him.

"Raglan we need to hurry and get to the Archangel and get out of here. So if you haven't gave that pink princess back to Zaft do it now. There's no guarantee those High Judgment guys won't take us out once they're done with Frank Williams."

"Don't worry she's already back on board the Zaft ship. Let's go." Eric said setting a course for the Archangel as the Fulfillment aimed its rifle at three more frigates of the EA fleet in close enough proximity to hit simultaneously and let loose another implosion grenade.

As the Hope was flying by the main EA frigate with the Vice Admiral on board it suddenly opened fired on it forcing the the Hope to the rapidly climb to avoid being shot down.

"What are you doing? I'm not a member of High judgment or even Zaft."

"You're still a traitor to the Earth Alliance." William's yelled over the radio

"How do you figure that?"

"According to what Ramius told me you tried Ms Clyne to return the Plants. She would have given us the advantage we needed to finally end this war and put the Coordinators in their rightful place!"

"First you have no right to decide anyone's place and second I already decided I don't care what the Earth Alliance wants there was no way I was gonna let them do what they want to Lacus."

"So that girl is means more to you than allegiance to the EA?"

"Yeah she does and always will from this point on. Besides I never believed in what the EA stood for especially since it just goes around annexing neutral countries and is simply fighting to oppress the people of the Plants because the EA's refusal to recognize them or anyone who doesn't bend a knee to them as human beings. The only reason I'm fighting is to protect my friends and family onboard the Archangel."

"So you choose that your family and the Plant's pop idol over us."

"And I always will they're the ones I care about not people like you."

Had Eric or Williams remembered they were speaking over a completely open channel they would have realized that everyone else on the battle field was listening and what was said by them had drawn various reactions.

Mirriallia and Tolle were now completely sure that Eric had a thing for Lacus though there wasn't really ever any doubt considering the lengths he went to for the sake of getting her away from the EA.

Kuzzy was just confused.

If not for the grim situation the crew was currently in Callahan would have probably been smirking at Eric's comment and contemplating about how to tease him about it later. One thing that was adamant was that he disagreed with Eric's view if the EA for personal reasons.

Ramius could only sigh, she already knew Eric didn't have a high opinion of the EA and she knew that not everything the Earth Alliance did was exactly ideal she didn't want to believe they were the monsters Eric were them out to be.

If she was a firm believer in professionalism Natarle's face would probably be red with anger right now nonetheless she was still pissed, if there were any doubts that Eric belonged in a brig they were now completely gone and her belief was solidified.

Mu had more or less shared Ramius' view though he took Eric's statement as proof that wanted Lacus as girlfriend.

On board one of the two Nazca members of the media were listening intently at what was said but they were only registering the parts about how Eric was declaring he cared more for Lacus then EA believing that was where the story they found lied.

Athrun could only listen in bewilderment, a part of him rescuing to believe what Eric was saying since Athrun still felt it was Eric's fault that Lacus was used as a hostage at all plus he didn't want what Dearka said about him having a potential love rival to be true since he was trying to make his and Lacus marriage arrangement work even if it was more for the sake of making his father happy then a desire to be with her that really wasn't there and Dearka's joke turning to true would only serve to irritate his father as it would potentially make him (and probably Siegel) a laughing stock.

Rue was trying not to laugh as he knew the media members on board the Nazca class ships were going to go public with this causing questions about the relationship between Eric and Lacus to arise which he like Athrun knew would really irritate Zala since the idea of Lacus potentially having another lover would make him lose a lot of credibility since he was the one who pushed for the marriage in the first place.

"If that's the case I'll take have you shoot down before I deal these High Judgment people then I'm gonna shoot down the Archangel and take back ms Clyne and maybe have a little fun with her before I gave her to the Admirals to interrogate and use as a bargaining chip against the Coordinators."

"Not while I have breath in my body you're not!" Eric yelled as he suddenly saw another image of a seed bursting in his mind and simply let the changes it induced take hold before taking aim with the Hope's remaining shoulder cannon and fired the consecutive shots and taking out two turrets

"Raglan what are you doing we need to get out of here now." Mu said.

"Not until this bastard's put down for good, I won't let anyone hurt Lacus!" Eric said flying under the ship and pulling out on the Hope's Schneider knifes to tear a massive gash into the ship's underbelly before climbing and firing the shoulder cannon obliterating and deck before landing on it.

This son of a bitch wouldn't touch Lacus the thought of which made Eric remember what the EA had done to his childhood home in the past, he may not have been able to save his first family but he'd definitely keep Lacus safe from the EA scum who should.

As Williams watched the Hope's eyes gaze at him the machine seemed more like a demonic predator that had found its next prey to reap and the prey in question was the Vice Admiral himself. Desire of fame and fortune was now completely forgotten as fear had completely overtaken his mind.

"Everyone forget that blue mobile suit and just destroy this one then retreat!" he yelled out. Promotions, money, woman, and glory be damned Williams simply wanted to escape and live.

Unfortunately for the admiral Eric was having none of that as he pulled out the Hope's beam saber.

"Please noooooo." The vice admiral screamed as the Hope cut through the bridge of ship killing everyone on it.

Eric took off towards the next EA and aimed the remaining shoulder cannon for its bridge. He remembered how the EA destroyed his home, massacred everyone living there, and killed his family and his sister Bahar.

Eric could see many of the EA officers getting on the knees and yelling something out probably pleads for him to spare their lives. He paid it no head, the EA didn't hesitate to shoot down anyone of X8 even when they were begging for their lives and they obviously wouldn't hesitated to hurt Lacus to their hearts content even though she had never done a thing to them or anyone to earn their hate. But did they care? No so the EA didn't deserve any shred of mercy they all deserved to be sent to hell but…

"Eric please stop, I know you hate the EA for what they did to your home but you mustn't let hate rule over you!" a feminine voice yelled.

"Lacus?" Eric asked coming back to his senses.

"Yes, please go back to the ship with your friends and the family you have now. I know you're still hurting because what the EA took from you but you're not alone." Lacus pleaded.

Eric took notice in how her voice was shacking. Was she on the verge of crying because of what Eric was about to do? Was he about to do something that was about to sadden her?

It was then Eric remembered the promise Lacus had him make and it finally donned on him what he was about to do.

Without a response Eric turned to head to the Archangel.

XXXXX

"It seems that woman's keeping another side of Eric Raglan in check." Rue said as a malicious smile came to his face.

"It won't matter once Lacus is back at the Plants. I'll enjoy seeing how this war effects Raglan and finding out who he really is." The Zaft commander said.

XXXXX

On the bridge of the Vesalius everyone stared at Lacus in shock after she took the intercom from the Zaft officer to speak to Eric and stop him from needlessly killing people simply because of their allegiance.

If questions weren't surfacing in their mind about Lacus' relationship with the Hope's pilot they were now. Regardless none of them voice any type of opinion as Lacus walked to the window of the bridge and placed her hand on the glass.

'Eric please don't change who you are, I want to see you again.'

XXXXX

Barclay was suddenly hailed by Rooks

"Barclay our reinforcements have arrived." High Judgment's second in command said.

Barclay looked at his mobile suit's radar which showed four High Judgment ships and around sixty mobile suits.

"Have our forces mop up the rest of the EA fleet even if they retreat, Zaft forces are free to leave so this time so long as they don't make the mistake of opening fire on us."

Looking towards the Hope which was now flying into a net set in the Archangel's hanger bay.

"If you live long enough we will meet again on the field of battle, next time I won't have any incentive for keeping you alive."

Rooks relayed Barclay's message to the Zaft forces which eagerly took up the offer and left likely not wanting to fight the Fulfillment after seeing it's prowess and wanting to get Lacus back to the Plants ad away from danger.

* * *

 **Alright that's the end for this chapter I originally was going to refrain from giving Eric any dark murderous side but after deciding the finale details on his back story I figured it would make more sense** **plus dark sides are pretty badass in my opinion especially after watching the walkthrough for metal gear rising revengeance.**

 **Making Lacus the anchor that holds it back was an idea I got from reading another fanfic.**

 **It looks like the Archangel lucked out with the way they unknowingly caught between two hostile forces with High Judgment and the EA fleet (due to the vice admiral trying to double cross them to make a name for himself) it was a good thing their protection and original enemy both decided to focus their efforts on wiping out the EA or they'd have been screwed**

 **Anyway until next time.**

 **PS before anyone starts asking the reason for the dream Eric had in the last chapter and why Barclay wanted him dissected will be later on unless you want a pm of why but it'll will be a major spoiler to Eric's back story.**


	11. Tensioned reunion

**I know i said I was considering rewriting this but I couldn't come up with a more detailed vrrsion on the fly so I'll keep this going...for the time being. Rewriting it isn't off the table jist yet**

 **With the arc introducing High Judgment over it is time to get on with meeting the eighth fleet and proper repairs to the Archangel and Strike and what still needs to be fixed on the Hope and also the introduction of another major OC ;)**

 **Disclaimer I don't own GS**

* * *

A mobile armor pilot screamed in fear as one of the High Judgment CGUEs closed in on them and cut the mobile armor in half with their CGUE's heavy sword.

At the same time Rooks had shot out the bridge of one the EA frigates and Greyson shot three more EA pilot down consecutively.

"That should be the last of them." Rooks said looking around to confirm that the fleet under the departed Vice Admiral Frank Williams command were indeed all wiped.

"Good we need to head back to our base and decide our next move against the EA and Zaft." Barclay said.

"What about Raglan?"

"I'd have preferred to have had him brought with us for dissection and examination to see if my hunch about him was correct but thanks to the interruption by the EA forces we were forced to let him go, still losing him doesn't deter anything."

"Maybe but I think he's still worth pursuing." Rooks declared.

"If that's the case I'll leave the matter in your hands but for now let us leave this place."

"Roger all Data and other schematics being kept here have been clear ot so we can depart immediately."

XXXXX

"While I am glad to see you're OK. I need to ask why did attempt to give ms Clyne back to Zaft under our noses." Ramius inquired to Eric who was standing before her on the bridge of the Archangel.

"Because if you were allowed to bring her to an EA base she would've been interrogated for information she can't possible have and used as a hostage at best." Eric answer

"What do you mean by that?" Ramius asked trying to suppress building anger.

"If Lacus remained in your side's hands then whatever future awaited would likely make death a kindness."

"Just what do you take us for?"

"What you and EA actually are."

Natarle's eyes narrowed to slits, it was no surprise that she was becoming pissed with Eric badmouthing the Earth Alliance. Mu sighed having a good idea of where this conversation was going.

"Eric our side might not have made the best decisions but the EA's not the monster you make it out to be."

"And how is that? You guys persecuted and discriminated against Coordinators in every manner possible until you drove them off of the Earth because you couldn't get over your petty jealousy issues then when they try to make a home for themselves in space you forbid them from making their own food so you can exploit them for one sided gain that you didn't have any right to by any means, then after they break off from the Earth and try to walk away from the conflict peacefully what do you do? You try putting on a show of force and nuke one of their colonies trying to intimidate them into letting you oppress them again and when that doesn't go as you so superciliously thought it would your side decides to start an all out war."

Ramius felt her anger getting close to its peak and what Eric said next didn't do anything to defuse it.

"You all want to sit here thinking you some force for good and justice but in reality you're all nothing but genocidal scum and persecutors trying to enslave people who just want to be left in peace! You're not the heroes you're just tryants you can't accept the eixistence of those who are different from you, in fact this entire war only happened because of the EA's refusal to leave Coordinators alone!"

It was then Eric felt something impact his cheek and hard. When Eric regained his senses and looked at Ramius who's right arm was now stretched to her left it immediately became apparent that she had slapped him.

"If you think so little of us then why did you help us at all?" Ramius demanded more so then asked.

"Because my friends and family are on board this ship." Eric said before turning around.

"There's one more thing I need to know."

"I'm listening."

"During the time you initially fought Barclay both you and him mentioned the name Shirou numerous times and from the sound of it I'd venture to guess that this person had something to do with the Hope G weapon's creation."

Eric turned away from Ramius not wanting to confirm that but with everything that he and Barclay had said over the radio there was no use trying to avoid it.

"He's the one who designed it and made me its pilot."

"So you were keeping information from us?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me what really happened." Ramius demanded.

Eric sighed and gave them the details of what really happened when he told them about the events leading up to when Shirou gave him the Hope Gundam. Initially they didn't believe him until he told them about the one year worth of training via the mobile suit simulator Shirou let Eric use further angering Ramius with the realization that he lied about simply figuring out how to pilot the Hope on the spot like Kira did with the Strike.

"I suspect you lied about not knowing how to undo the lock on the Hope so you better tell us how to remove it or things will become much worse for you." Natarle said early causing Eric to laugh.

"Sorry to disappoint you but that was the one thing I was being honest about, I didn't even know about that DNA lock until you guys called me to deactivate that first time though it doesn't matter anymore I found out when I got the Hope back that High Judgment removed it."

XXXXX

"On board the Vesalius members of the media were all berating Lacus with questions of what had happened during her time being held by High judgment.

"Ms Clyne did you meet this organizations leader?"One of them asked.

"Did these people at High Judgment tell you who's side they're on?" Inquired another

Lacus looked less than comfortable with the near constant stream of questions which Athrun was quick to take notice of. Tit wasn't hard to see the reason for the discomfort Lacus had just been through near death when the memorial crew was initially attacked, used as a hostage by the Earth Alliance, then was given a scare when the Pilot of the Hope lost to the Fulfillment, and forced to escape from High Judgment's grasp amidst a battle field between it and Zaft forces until that Vice Admiral of the EA showed up.

"Ms Clyne what is your relationship with the Pilot that recued you?"

And that his que to intervene at least as far as he was concerned. Acting quickly Athrun walked over to where Lacus was and grabbed her hand. "Lacus has been through a lot so your questions will have to wait until another time." Athrun said dragging her away.

"Mr Zala do you believe the pilot of that shite and silver mobile suit is in love with your fiancé?" one of the media asked.

"It doesn't matter he and Lacus won't ever meet again." Athrun announced earning an unnoticed near scowl from his betrothed. Personally though Athrun still didn't have a high opinion of Eric, he may have returned Lacus but he was still responsible for killing Miguel and had interfered when Athrun tried to get Kira to come back with him to Zaft. That wasn't accounting for the fact that Eric was piloting the sixth g weapon and fighting under the banner of the EA so by the end of the day he was an enemy.

Once him and Lacus were away from the media members Athrun finally let go of lacus' hand. "Sorry about suddenly grabbing you like that."

"It's OK I wanted to get away from those people for a little bit."

"Make sense you've been though a lot. Still the EA didn't hurt you did they?"

"No Crew was good to me and I was with Eric for a lot of the time."

Athrun felt a sense of worry one over him upon hearing his Fiancé mention the pilot of the Hope's name. Athrun placed his hands on Lacus' shoulders.

"Lacus I think it would be best if you forget everything that happened between you and that guy."

"But he hasn't done anything wrong." Lacus said pulling herself away from Athrun.

"Lacus he may have saved you but if you hadn't met him you never would've been in danger in the first place."

Few witnessed Lacus ever being upset about something since to took a lot to anger her and as such it was rather rare but had there been any third party bystanders they would have bore witness to it now as a slight but visible glare decorated her face.

"That's not true." Lacus declared firmly causing Athrun to fall silent as she continued.

"It wasn't Eric who attacked the memorial unit and those that did were after my life, and he had nothing to do with my being held hostage, He simply brought me to the ship to help me after stopping my would be assassins."

Athrun remained silent.

"And if you don't recall correctly I chose to go to High Judgment of my own free will so I could know if he was ok and it was only by his ability to pilot the Hope that I escaped."

It looked like Nicol was right on the money when he suggested Lacus being worried about the Hope's pilot when she went with High Judgment.

"If anything, I wouldn't be standing here now if not for Eric's actions."

"So-sorry." Athrun said realizing he stepped on something of a land mine.

"It's alright but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to blame the entire ordeal with High Judgment and the EA on him." Lacus said before walking off on her own.

Now left alone Athrun found himself mentally stunned, while Lacus would stand up for practically anyone she felt was wronged she never showed such passion for it like she just did for Eric. Athrun could only hope she wouldn't do or say anything to add fuel to the fire in the form of inevitable rumors that the media was going to start spreading around the Plants and his father wasn't going to be particularly pleased since his credibility would be damaged if people bought into them.

XXXXX

On his way to his assigned room Eric by some off chance passed by the medical ward and saw Abram still lying on a hospital bed. Walking into the room Eric sat Down in the only chair and the room and stared at Abram's seemingly unconscious form.

"Hey dad I made a special friend today, though you and probably no one in Orb would believe me unless they vouched for me." Eric said chuckling a bit.

"The friend in question is probably the absolute last person you'd expect it to be but against all odds it actually happen"

"I know I heard you speak with Lacus. While you were here the last time you spoke with me." Abram's voice suddenly said.

"Dad?" Eric asked wide seeing Abram now facing him.

"Dad your…?" Eric couldn't bring himself to finish before he threw his arms around Abram.

"I'm out of the coma now." Abram said returning the embrace which lasted almost a full minute before the two separated.

"Dad a lot happened since the time at the Artemis base."

"I'm somewhat aware."

"You are?"

"Yes while I was in a coma I could still hear everything.

"So you know about…"

"I just said as much only moments ago. I have to say though to think you'd actually end up meeting Lacus Clyne of all people."

"Yeah when I initially found her escape pod I never would have dreamed in a million years that I would actually get to meet her." 'Or become so unexpectedly close to her as I did in such a short time.'

"Speaking of which there was two things I wanted to tell you."

"Ok."

"First Lacus was right in doubting that you deserved to be in danger back when we arrived at the Artemis base."

"I was the one they were after you and no one else should have been in danger."

"And you expect me, Callahan, or any of your friends to happy with the idea of you being held at gun point?"

Eric couldn't bring himself to answer. He remembered how Lacus told him that told about Abram trying to intervene when Garcia tried to have Eric reset the Hope's self detonation because he didn't want to let Garcia do whatever he wished with Eric.

"Eric the reason I did what I had was because I didn't want to standby and let that Vice Admiral hurt you or force you into something that could've endangered your life. You may have been adopted but you mean just as much to me as Callahan does."

Yep it was pretty much as Lacus said. Though on that same note Eric doubted Abram would approve of Eric killing Garcia anymore than Lacus herself did.

"Ok, I'll do my best to avoid unnecessary danger. But what was that second thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Please forgive Callahan now and in the future, He may disagree with you about the EA but it's not because of ignorance of their wrong doings.

"Alright." Eric said slightly confused by what Abram was requesting. While he wasn't happy about Callahan vuonteering to help the EA crew but Eric could forgive him for that but that left the question as to Abram wanted Eric to also forgive him in the future.

Was Callahan foing to do something that Eric wouldn't like? If so Eric highly doubted it could be anything as bad as when he vulonteered to help the EA crew.

XXXXX

"So what's the condition of the Hope?" Mu asked as he come into the docking bay.

"Not nearly as good as it looks." Replied Murdoch catching Mu by surprise.

"Really? I would've thought that aside from its missing limbs and one of its shoulder cannons it was in perfect condition."

"Yeah that's what we all initially thought but after inspecting it we found out it's barely repaired enough to be operationsal."

"Could've fooled me."

"Can't really blame you there, while it might not have looked like it. Raglan was actually pretty damn lucky that the machine didn't break down during the fighting."

"So how long will it take you to repair it."

"A week mabye two and that's after we meet up with the eighth fleet."

"You realize that means we can't use either mobile suit if Zaft attacks us again right?"

"Yeah but we don't have the resources to repair the Hope cpmpetely nor the means to simplify the Strike's OS simcd the only person on board who specailizes in that field is still recovering in the medical room."

Mu could only sigh and scratch the back of his head. "Well it looks we'll just have to get to the eighth fleet before Zaft shows up again. It should be pretty easy since they're likely preoccupied with bringing that pink princess back to Plants."

XXXXX

A few days had passed since the recue of Lacus and after assuring everyone that the beloved idol of Plants was safe many news stations were initially praising Rau and the team under him as Heero's but as soon as their cowokers who accompanied the Zaft personnel to the place were High Judgment was staying informerd the stations of what had happened particularly with Eric Raglans actions on the battle field and the first confrontation between Eric and Barclay when he was initially caputred thanks to Dearka letting it slip the number of people questioning the nature of the raltionship betwwen Lacus Clyne and Eric Raglan increased dramatically.

still its not like Rau La Cruset cared, any rumors floating around would be Athrun and indiretly Zala's problem who speaking of which was who Rau was about to meet as he walked down a hall with the door to Zala's office right if front of him.

He could only only imagine how forious Zala would about the existense of a third party who not only had the strength to match either side but a suit that was more powerful than anything in Zaft's possession including the G weapons.

Upon opening the door to the secretary of defense's office Rau instantly found out the reaction Zala had to the existense of High Judgement was far more priceless than he could have imagined.

furniture was scattered everywhere and anything that was made of glass save for the windows was shattered. Zala himself was standing over the desk gritting his teeth together and glowing profusely, to add to the alread overreactrativwe scene some of ther blood vessels in Zala's left were pop showing just how far his anger had peeked.

Rau had to adimit this was overboared even for Zala, while Zala wasn't exactly one to conceal anger he was usually much more composed than he currently was now. While the existense of High Judgment wasn't something to scoff at especially since they had mobile suits and skill that underestimating could be fatal for anyone going against them.

Still Zala was arrogant in his beliefs that Coordinaters were supperior beings; while the Zaft commander knew Zala wouldn't be the least bit happy about the situation Rau had honestly expected Zala to keep his anger all but contained and scoff off what happened and underestimate High Judgment inisting they were just another junk guild.

"Sir I've come to ask you what you want done about this High Judgement group." Rau said getting Zala's attention.

"I'm going to have to meet with the rest of the Zaft council to decide that tomarrow but personally it should already be obvious."

'I can already guess what you want done.' Rau thought.

"Wipe those thieves out with extreme prejudice! They need to pay for taking the trump card belongs to us! One that shouldn't even be working no less."

Rau raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Zala sighed before replying.

"Tell me, do you know of the X8 colonies?"

"Vaguely all I've ever heard were that they were destroyed by the EA for reasons unkown that is assuming the colonies ever existed to begin with."

"They most certainly did but their existense was kept secret from most on Earth and space."

Had the explanation came from anyone else Rau likely woukd have written off the claim as a joke since if the implications about X8 were true they were basically a group of colonies attempting to form a nation independent of both Earth or the Plants. Needless to say concealing something like that wasn't exactly something that could be easily done assuming it was actually possible.

Still since Zala was far from the type to joke about anything...

"Was there any particular reasoning for their secrecy."

"Mainly inevitable bad relations they'd have with the EA as soon they made themselves known to the world."

"We're they intending to go to war with the EA."

"Not Nessecarily but they wanted time to build up their own militia until they were strong enough to hold their own if war ever did come to their door step."

"Then why would they have to deal with the eventuality of unpleasant relations?"

"Namely because they intended to become a nation similar to Orb but with one key difference."

"That being?"

"They'd intended to take an anti EA or more to the point anti Blue Cosmos and Atlantic Federation stance."

"You mean a nation that opposed the anti Coordinator ideals the Americans are so consumed by?"

"Yes and to prove their intentions at least to those of us who knew of their forming they began a series of Colaberation projects with Zaft' namely in weaponry to give us an advantage over our current enemy which is what birthed the first mobile suits giving our side its current technological advantage over the Naturals."

"I see."

"Amongst these joint projects was that Blue mobile suit that had attacked the G weapon our agents failed to recover."

"Are you saying these X8 colonies hand a hand in creating that machine?"

"Along with us. Much like the Gat series built on Heliopolis the machine was built by both our side and theirs with the intent that it would be a trump card against the enemy but unfortunely the EA found out about X8's dealings with us and launched and special invading force." Zala said before continueing.

"We stantioned our own defensive troops to assist with the X8 colonies defenses but because of an unkown leak to the EA our efforts were ultimately in vain and all the joint projects we worked on with them including that Machine dissapeared."

"You mean they were stolen?"

"Yes, at first I had believed it was the EA but they had not delpoyed a single weapon we worked on with the X8 colonies even once during the entirety of this war."

"Then we may need to thank to High Judgment for deciding to come out into the open. We now know where those weapon projects are."

"True but that's what also makes them a major threat in spite of being little more than a collective military." Zala retorted before finally meeting Rau's.

"I'll convince the rest of the Zaft Council to list them as a high priority target it shouldn't be too hard with them having the Fulfillment."

'The still begs the questions as why Barclay's mobile suit is so far above the G weapons built on Heliopolis...and why it isn't supposed to be working. what aren't you telling me Zala?' Rau thought before simply deciding to to look into the coordinates that Barclay had sent him during the skirmish with High Judgment.

XXXXX

"It looks like we be meeting with the eighth fleet soon." Callahan said as he Eric and the others save for Flay were looking out the window.

"Finally I really want to get to Orb and forget any of this happened." Kuzzy replied before Mirriallia followed up.

"Well soon everything with be like it was before we got caught up in this war."

"Yeah." Said Sai even though he was wasn't certain that Mirriallia's were completely true considering Flay's grief striken state.

"I'm just glad we don't have to deal with those High Judgement guys." Kuzzy said.

"I think we all feel relieved about that." Mirriallia replied.

"Yeah if even Zaft couldn't take them with the other G weapons or Eric when his machine suddenly got faster I don't think there's anyone that could."

Eric felt a jolt of anger rise up in him at the mention of High Judgment as well as their strength. Unfortunately however Eric was forced to accept the reality that he couldn't do anything aganist them nor their leader Barclay.

The Hope Gundam as he found out was much further from fully repaired then it had initially looked. If Eric had to guess he'd think it was safe to assume that High Judgment mechanics prioritized their repairs to the cockpit and outer chest alone. Still without any real form of confirmation there was no way to tell for sure.

Not that any of it mattered in the end since the Hope's DNA lock was removed meaning the machine could now be piloted by anyone and the EA would without a doubt assign it to someone who was more enthusiastic about their genocidal campaign.

Still in spite of how frustrating any of it may have been there wasn't anything Eric could really do about the situation anymore.

The only way Eric could possibly keep the Hope Gundam was if he joined the EA officially but the only way he'd ever even consider that is if it became the only way to protect his family and friends.

'I guess by the end of the day simply going to Orb's mainland is the best thing that could happen.'

Eric's gaze tilted downwards slightly. 'Sorry Shirou but whatever you were hoping for me to do is something that's out of my reach.' He thought as he began leaving and heading back to his room.

Meanwhile Callahan stared intently at the various shiloutes of the making up the EA's eigth fleet as a contemplation began to run through his mind.

'If I simply head back to Orb all the danger will be over but mom's still out there on battle field fighting against Zaft.'

XXXXX

Walking through the hall of the capital Plant's office building where the Zaft Council Lacus was headed for the first elevator she could find to get to the upper floors and visit her father however...

"Lacus!" Another voice suddenly exclaimed from behind her causing her to turn around to see a teen girl around her age with shoulder length black hair tied in a thin pony tail and blue eyes wearing a Zaft red uniform.

Upon recignition of who the other girl was Lacus smiled and quickly walked over and hugged the Zaft red who instantly returned the embrace.

"Imogen it's so good to see you!" Lacus exlaimed.

"I could say the same to you." The girl known as Imogen and Lacus' long time friend replied before letting go of the songstress adopting a more serious demeanor and continuing.

"I heard you were captured by the EA and then some terrorist group."

"Well truthfully the EA rescued me unkowningly but the crew was good to me regardless."

"What about this other group calling themselves High Judgment?"

"They didn't do anything to me. Eric managed to get both of us out of their clutches before they could attempt anything."

"Eric? That's the pilot of the Hope G weapon that our forces didn't discover right?"

"Yes I met him when he first found the escape pod I was on."

"Speaking of him... You know that thanks to all the stuff he was helping about wanting to protect you and not caring what the EA wanted has a lot of people wandering what his relationship with you is."

"So you saw the footage of the fight."

"Yeah I gotta say I never thought I'd see the day when the EA tried to one up their own teamates." Imogen said refferring to how the vice adimiral from the EA's moonbase tried double cross thd Crew of the legged ship.

"Well the situation was resolved I'm just relieved Eric didn't let himself become consumed by hatred for the EA for what they did to X8 colonies."

Upon hearing the mention of the X8 colonies Imogen's eyes widened considerably.

"X8 you mean?"

"Yes your former home."

Imogen went Silent for a few moments slightly worrying the songstress.

"Lacus I'm sorry but could you tell me everything you know about this pilot named Eric Raglan."

XXXXX

"Arrgggg"

"Take it slowly Eric we all know you're bandaged up but don't push yourself.' Tolle said as Eric barely kept from falling to his knees when another jolt of pain shot through his body from the injuries he'd received from his clash with Barclay.

XXXXX

"Greyson there's no need for you to join me on this mission, the machine Shirou created is only a secondary priority now." Rooks said after the door to the bridge of the ship he was on opened revealing the boy in question.

"That may be but that doesn't change what my reason for living is now that everything else was taken from me."

Room stayed silent for a few moments. It was true now that Greyson Landry had essentially lost anyone and everyone he cared about that his only purpose was to support Barcaly in his goals for the world but the irony behind it was that Greyson's motivation didn't come from any form of gratidude but rather dispair.

In simple terms the teen had decided to give up on anything else aside from High Judgment's cause.

'Fate truly can be twisted but in the end all humans can do is head in the direction it points them in or forfeit all significance.' Rooks that before shooting a momentary glance at Greyson.

'I suppose he and Raglan are both living proof of that.'

* * *

 **Alright that's another chapter down sorry nothing action wose really happened but I mainly wanted to use this chapter to set things up for the next few arks.**

 **Sorry Imogen didn't get that much screen time but I wanted to hurry up and get this chapter out of the way so I can focus on other stories for the time being. She'll be seen again in future chapters**

 **Preview for next time.**

 **The archangel meets with the eigth fleet where Eric expects to go head back to Orb with everyone else until Zaft shows up and Flay and more so Callahan make a shocking decision.**

 **Until next time callahan's chosen path. Now I'm off to make much needed spelling corrections to the previous chapter and get back to work on a new reason to live.**


	12. Callahan's chosen path

**Alright first off I'm just gonna apologize for all the grammar mistakes and lack of detail with the previous chapter. I kind of rushed it to get it out ASAP which ended up hurting it in more ways then one so I'll refrain from doing that in the future.**

 **Any on with the story and a more proper introduction for Imogem**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam seed.**

* * *

Imogen was dedicated ace pilot of Zaft and loyal to Siegel's cause for peace after her original home of X8 was destroyed by the EA she was rescued and taken to live in the Plant's where she had an unlikely chance to meet Lucas and become one of her few actually friends who viewed the songstress as a normal person rather than an idol to be practically worshipped.

Due to the close friendship that developed between the two Lucas would often open up to Imogen with her personal problems and Imogen did the same even going as far to eventually reveal where she was from and the brevity of what took place.

Needless to say when she heard Lacus' rescuer and potential rival to Athrun Zala for her affection as far as the Plant's media was concerned was also from the same place as herself Imogen came to the realization that Hope's pilot known as Eric Raglan may have been in far more deep over his head than he may have realized, at first she thought he was targeted because he simply did something to agitate the group known as High Judgement but when Lucas told her everything that had happened during her time with Eric Imogen knew the boy had likely made himself a high priority target to individuals far more dangerous than the extremist parties fueling the war effort.

Unfortunately there was nothing she could do at the moment since she was currently being reassigned to a region in Africa the Zaft had control over to assist the Zaft Commander in charge with dealing with a couple of rebels that the Zaft forces would likely have swept aside before long.

It was rather suffice to say Imogen found the reassignment to be a waste of her time but the decision came directly from the Secretary of defense Patrick Zala so she couldn't really protest it. As she loading her custom DINN mobile suit onto a Nazca class ship she sighed.

"Mine as well get this over with." She said to no one in particular.

'And find Eric Raglan ASAP before he's killed for Lucas' sake. She might not show it openly but she cares a great deal for him.'

XXXXX

A few days had passed since Eric had managed to escape from High Judgement's grasp and apparently word was that since that time. They had quickly grown much more active attacking both sides of the war and decimating anyone unfortunate enough to cross paths with them.

However for Eric he simply was looking forward to going back to Orb until he discovered that his younger foster brother had other plans. Back when Abram told Eric to forgive Callahan for something he was going to do Eric had wondered what Abram's real son could possibly do that possibly require Eric forgiveness. To say the least when Eric found out he was not the least bit pleased with the answer he received.

"Why the hell are you enlisting with these monsters!?" Eric demanded holding a defiant Callahan against the wall by the fabric of his shirt.

"None of your goddamn business."

"The hell it isn't do you have any idea what the fuck you're doing? The EA is pure evil!"

"It's not like Zaft's not any better." Callahan Rebutted.

"How do you figure that? Have you missed all the stuff the EA's been doing. Seriously more then a few Neutral nations have already been dragged into this war already because of them. "

"And Zaft hasn't done the same thing? In case you forgot we all only got involved in this mess because Zaft barged in and attacked our home."

"Only because Morgenroete was stupid enough to build Mobile suits for the EA in the colony."

"And for that we all had to lose our homes?" Callahan retorted pushing shoving Eric off of him.

"No we shouldn't have had to pay that price but that doesn't mean you need to go joining the EA just to get revenge on Zaft."

"Don't act like you know everything about me! So what if I wanna fight Zaft? It's my decision not yours!"

Eric inwardly groaned in annoyance. This act of defiance that Callahan was so determined to put up was only going to lead to his death. How he could not see the raw amount of idiocy in his choice was beyond Eric.

To make matters worse thanks to Flay putting on some ridicules speech about how she supposedly wanted to part in the war because the death of her father made her see that simply ignoring the war didn't mean the times were actually peaceful Mirriallia, Tolle, Sai, Kai who had now woke up but was still to injured to pilot the Strike for the moment, and even Kuzzy had all decided to join the EA.

Eric almost felt the urge laugh at that, it was ironic in the way her words carried a great deal of truth but were complete bullshit at the same time.

It was indeed true simply living in Orb and pretending the war was there didn't mean the world was actually at peace, or it was simply choosing ignorance.

It was also pure grade A bullshit in the sense of sincerity since Flay was the last person to protect anything, hell if anything she'd just be an unnecessary burden the ship doesn't need.

As things stood Eric would already unavoidably be forced to make the absolute worst decision of his entire life and join the genocidal monsters that he so despises for the sake of protecting his friends was whatever god in the universe knew he really didn't want partake in a campaign that revolved solely around goals of oppression along with blatant enslavement at best and massacre surprising the holocaust at worst.

In spite of that Eric at the very least would have liked to keep his family from getting involved but as ill fortune would have it if the current argument was anything to go by his younger foster brother had other plans.

"Your decision is going to get you killed."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because you've never been directly on a battle field."

"So what Kira and Mu La Flaga will be there to protect the Archangel when the fighting starts. So it's not like I'll be alone out in the field."

Eric felt his anger rise further. If Callahan seriously thought he was ready to take on Zaft forces he was truly deluded beyond belief.

Mu and Kira may have been able to hold their own against the G weapons but one of them had talent above their peers and the other had the same gene modifications as the opposing side.

Eric had year's worth of coincidental training with a mobile suit giving him the skill needed to fight against any enemy he may have encountered. Plus he now seemed to have that weird seed that materialized in his mind twice and increased his skills and overall prowess immensely.

In the case of Callahan, he lacked any of these. His desire to support others was admirable but the fact remained he didn't battle on any type of war zone.

Eric was about to retort but Callahan had decided to walk off leaving the Hope's pilot alone with his thoughts.

Turning to the wall of the wall he was in Eric rammed his fist into hard enough to fracture the bones in his fingers.

"Dammit! Why the fuck did things have to end up this way?!" Eric said to no one in particular.

It may have already became a given what was going to have to happen in order to protect everyone on the ship and also obvious what had led to the current circumstances but still Eric had to wonder if there was anything he could have done differently in the past such as saving George Alster to prevent Flay from fooling everyone into jumping head long into a war that none of them had any business taking part in or perhaps prevent the destruction of Heliopolis to stop Callahan from developing the most idiotic desire to jump into confrontations with Zaft that were only going to end one way.

"I can't believe I have to join these genocidal fucks."

XXXXX

"So the Hope's almost repaired?" Mu asked starring

"Key word is almost it took us a while since those High Judgement really didn't put as much effort into it as a glance would lead you believe." Murdoch replied scratching the back of his head before continuing.

"Those High Judgment guys barely repaired it at all."

"You serious?" Mu asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah that thing was just barely operational. Hell I'm shock it didn't die on that kid and fall apart completely during the fighting let alone perform as well as it was able. Whoever designed the thing was better then anyone from Morgenroete. The Strike and stolen Gundams wouldn't have been able to hold out in such poor condition."

"Hearing that just makes me wish I could've met this Shirou guy." Mu La Flaga.

"You and me both, if he could build a suit that was even more durable and powerful then the ones we had built on Heliopolis he'd have been a real help to us during this war."

"Maybe but we'll never know." Mu said eyeing the almost repaired Hope.

The Gundam for majority looked the same as ever however it's original shield had been replaced by one identical to the Strike's save for being grey instead of red and CIW's had been added to it's head in replacement of its lost Gatling gun.

Other additional armaments included a new beam rifle to replace the one destroyed by the Duel and a beam boomerang on its hips on the opposite side of the beam saber.

Once the Hope's thrusters were brought online it'd be ready for deployment. Now that the DNA lock was gone Mu would be able to pilot it once the Murdoch and his men were done.

And thanks to the study and examination of its OS system creating Mass produced mobile suits and evening out the playing field with Zaft would become much easier.

Still as irrational as it might have been to admit from an average member of the EA's perspective he'd personally prefer if Reglan stayed and continued to pilot the Hope. Having both him and Kira would make it a whole lot easier to protect the Archangel.

In spite of any hopes he may have had however he was well aware the odds of that happening were slim to none. A part of him had to wonder how happy Natarle was to see him gone especially with how much she believed in the Earth Alliance as a whole.

"Gotta wonder though if he made a machine like this what else was he capable of doing." Mu said off handedly.

"You have to ask someone besides me." Murdoch replied.

XXXXX

"So we got to break though these Natural's flimsily fleet to get to our actual target?" Dearka asked nonchalantly.

"It shouldn't be to much of a problem with the reinforcements we'll be getting sweeping aside the general portion of the Earth forces will be simplistic enough but We'll still have the Strike and likely the Hope to deal with." Rau La Cruset said.

"The Strike will go down easily, it's that fucking other one I want a shot at." Yzak declared.

"understandable but remember your mission is to destroy it before it reaches the Earth."

"Don't worry I'll end that Natural before he has a chance to try"

Rau could only smirk at Joule's misguided overconfidence. With the way Hope's pilot had been improving the Zaft Commander began to seriously doubt any of the Zaft reds under his command could take down the Hope's pilot single handedly but only time wood tell if he was truly right or not.

In the end it mattered little in the grand scheme of things as far as his personal agenda went. Still Eric held an endless amount of interest. An ordinary civilian and Natural who got caught up in the war inadvertently and yet skilled enough to hold off the four Gundams in Zaft's possession and strong enough to survive in single combat against the fulfillment to boot.

Granted the Pilot of the Fulfillment intentionally spared him and was holding back tremendously but even Eric's performance against the Fulfilments had much more to show for it then other opponents who clashed with the blue mobile suit.

And even with all that under his belt the wild card known as Eric Raglan still held more secrets if the coordinates given by Barclay were enough of a hint.

'once this mission's done I finally be able to see the true with of this boy's existence.'

"That's good since we're expected to succeed this time the council is getting tired of our constant string of failures." The commander replied.

"heeyyy we didn't lose those Natural's just keep managing to slip away before we can shoot him down." Dearka said trying to defend the Zaft red team's track record.

"You're free to interpret things as you see fit but the fact still remains the council would prefer we bring those two mobile suits this time and before I forget."

Rau La Cruset turned to Athrun. "The secretary of defense has declared that the Hope is the higher priority target and he wants it destroyed and its pilot dead ASAP."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Yzak said before walking off.

Athrun could only sigh mentally since he knew the reason Eric was being listed as the higher priority target; it was like unavoidable after what happened involving him and Lucas, rumors of the two of them were spreading at speeds that'd put any wild fire to shame needless to say his father wasn't too pleased with where they were going.

XXXXX

"So you've decided to stay with the Archangel." Stated Halberton as he looked at Eric's official enlistment form that he filled out.

"It's not that my opinion of the EA's changed but I don't want my friends to die."

"Fair enough I suppose however…" The Admiral's gaze became far more stern as he continued.

"Regardless of what you might think of our cause you will be expected to carry whatever orders you are given and failure to do so will result in disciplinary actions. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Eric said though he hated the way was now forced to address the EA Admiral but it couldn't be helped since they were now technically his superior.

"Good I'll relay a message to Captain Ramius that you'll be remaining the Hope's official pilot since piloting a mobile suit is where you're specialty lies as well as the fact that you've been made well aware of what's expected of you."

XXXXX

"You can't be serious. Surely you know that Raglan boy is a liability with his past actions!" Natarle exclaimed.

"I'm well aware of his part in returning Lacus Clyne without permission but regardless of who she was she was a civilian by the end of the day so it wasn't exactly honorable to drag her into the war for the sake of convenience and as for what he did to Frank Williams it's too my understanding he tried to double cross your Crew and besides he was already under suspicion of ruining the careers pf his fellow officers so he already had an investigation going against him."

Natarle grunted in annoyance and while Ramius wasn't exactly eager to have someone who loathed everything about the EA's very existence she couldn't deny that Eric was from a moral standpoint doing the right thing when he gave Lacus back to Zaft forces and technically protected the Archangel when he killed Frank Williams even if his intent was more for the sake of protecting Lacus.

A part of Ramius had to wonder what happened for the boy to become so seemingly fond of the songstress. She might have thought it was simply Lacus taking advantage of him but even after only seeing Lacus in person briefly the Captain could tell she was that type pf person and after hearing Lacus plead for Eric to stop when he was about to go on a rampage and start slaughtering the fleet the late Frank Williams had brought it the sincerity and worry were clear in the songstress' voice.

It didn't take a genius to realize Lacus had truly come to care a great deal for Eric in the short time the two were together. Ramius couldn't help but wonder just how close the two had become but there was no way for her to really find out the most she heard of it were people asking each other similar questions to the ones going through her mind as well as others that were beginning to transition into assumptions that Eric and Lacus were lovers.

Ramius had little doubt that before long rumors would start spreading amongst the refugees and they only expand even further once they were brought to Orb.

All that aside all Ramius could do now was make whatever use of Eric she was able and hope he wouldn't fight her at every turn. Still if the what she and the crew had been through already was anything to go by she could count on Eric to fight off Zaft forces.

XXXXX

"Eric, Callahan I know you two have disagreements pertaining to who's truly right in this war but I want both of you to come back alive so you need to protect each other." Abram who was getting on board the shuttle taking him and the rest of the refugees back to Orb said.

"I'll make sure we both get back safely." Eric said.

"You got nothing to worry those other four machines that Zaft took won't know what hit em." Callahan said.

"Good I'll be waiting for both you to come back."

"Don't worry we're going to love through this, I promise." Eric said

"I'll be holding you to that." Abram replied before boarding the shuttle leaving the step siblings on their own before Callahan shot a glare at Eric.

"You have no business being on the Archangel." He spat venomously to which Eric just rolled his eyes.

"No more than you or the others do."

"fine but you better leave me alone." Callahan said before walking.

"As long as you stay your ass off the battle field." Eric said even though Callahan was already out of hearing range.

Suddenly the Alarm went off alerting everyone of an impending attack. Eric was caught off guard wondering how it could have happened when the Archangel was currently linked up with the eighth fleet until it occurred to him that it must have been the eighth itself that was under attack.

Eric felt frustration well up in him he wasn't exactly in the mood for a fight, granted he never really was but the fact that he was being forced to officially fight under the banner of the Blue Cosmos sympathizing bastards gave him no shortage of self disgust.

Unfortunately since he was (reluctantly) fighting under their banner he was more or less obligated to follow their orders.

It wasn't long until then intercom came on and Ramius' voice was heard. Mu La Flaga please standby in the Mobius Zero and be ready to launch at a moment's notice."

'Just Mu huh, males sense.' Thought remembering how that Hope was not ready to sortie with according to Murdoch and the Strike couldn't be used since its OS was still too complicated for any Natural to use.'

Eric soon found his thoughts interrupted when the intercom came on again and was more than a little shocked at what was said next.

"ensign Raglan standby in the Strike unit and be ready to launch as soon as you're given the order."

The teen pilot was caught completely off guard and confused on top of that.

He had to wonder if he heard that right. Did Ramius seriously just tell him to standby in the Strike? Last Eric checked the machine had an OS that was far complex for any Natural, also since Eric himself was a Natural it didn't take a genius to see the obvious flaw in that plan.

Unfortunately Eric wasn't in a position to refuse now that he was an official solider of the EA so at the end of the day he had to follow the order.

XXXXXX

Out in the Vacuum of Space EA forces were trying their best to hold off Zaft forces and unfortunately (and unsurprisingly) Zaft forces were easily tearing right through any resistance the EA tried to put up thanks to the gap in weapon quality combined with the power of the four stolen Gundams.

"Sheesh you'd think these guys would have enough common sense to realize they can't do shit to stop us." Dearka commented mockingly as he used both of the Buster's rifles to shoot down one mobile armor after another.

"Well at the very least fighting the EA isn't nearly as unnerving as fighting those guys from High Judgment." Nicole said as used his piercer lock hook to impale a mobile Armor before following up with his beam rifle to shoot down a few others in quick succession and finally using one of the Blitz's lancer darts to shoot out the bridge of an EA ship whilst Dearka combined both of his guns into their sniper rifle form before shooting out the bridge of another EA ship and following up by seperating his guns and recombining them into their scatter shot form to take out a large cluster of EA units that were headed for the La Cruset team to intercept and slow them down.

Yzak was simply flying through the EA units shooting any with either his rifle and shoulder mountes railgun that tried to impeded his path as he made a blind beeline into the heart of the enemy fleet as a small number of more Mobile Armors tried to intercept him.

"Stay the fuck out of my way, you Natural small fry aren't worth my time." Yzak yelled as he shot a mobile Armor with his rifle before destroying another one with his railgun and following up with CIWs to take out the final one.

It wasn't long before one of the EA ships opened fired on the Duel hoping to destroy it much to its pilots further irritation and infuriation.

In response to the crew's actions Yzak simply flew toward the ship whilst shooting many of its AA guns before landing on the hull of the ship and shooting a grenade right into its bridge.

"The only people I care about fighting are the Hope's pilot and that other fucker from the High Judgment group."

The other person Joule was referring to was Greyson Landry. While the High Judgment pilot hadn't injured him physically like the Hope there was no shortage in scarring as far as the Zaft pilot's pride went.

In Yzak's eyes he was supposed to be one of the best pilots in Zaft as well as the entire Cosmic Era and yet a pilot from a pathetic organization that had the balls to but into his team's mission to take out the legged ship, Strike, and the mobile suit responsible for the scar on his face the Hope somehow managed to utterly defeat him in a way that made Yzak look like the most pitiful solider in existence. On top of that the pilot didn't exactly fail to rub salt in the wounds.

 _"The specs of the machine don't mean anything when it has a shitty pilot."_

That insult stung in way that was different but on par with the scar on his face. Needless to say he was more than a little determined to settle the score with the High Judgment pilot but first he'd deal with the pilot who was responsible for the first half of his humiliation.

Looking around the battle Yzak scanned the immediate area only detecting numerous EA units pretty much being mopping up by GINNs and the same dynamic could be applied to both ship's but Yzak ignored all of it until he finally spotted the legged ship.

"Time to shoot down the Hope!" With that the Duel made a straight beeline for the ship.

"Hey don't leave the rest of us behind!" Dearka exclaimed following after Yzak.

Nicol just silently went with Dearka after Yzak.

Athrun sighed before engaging his thrusters and heading after the Archangel. He really wasn't no where near as trigger happy as Yzak or even Dearka. Since his team was about to fight the Archangel that likely meant fighting Kira again assuming he lived after what Barclay had did when he initially attacked the Hope.

A part of Athrun wanted to at least see the Strike so he'd know that Kira was alive. Though it might have meant having to fight him Athrun would have a shot at convincing him to come to his senses provided the Hope's pilot didn't interfere again.

Speaking of which at this point Athrun just wanted to dispose of the Hope and be done with it. He didn't have a personal desire for blood the same way Yzak did but the boy known as Eric Raglan has been somewhat of a nuisance since he showed up and as time went on it only seemed to get worst especially with the Plant's media now practically spreading the rumor that there was something between the EA's pilot and Athrun's fiancé.

Lacus more or less maintained that Raglan was a dear friend but Athrun had an underlying sense of intuition told him the songstress had feeling for the enemy pilot that ran deeper. If that was the case Athrun would have a hard time figuring out how to apologize to her when he eliminated the Hope but by the end of the day it had to be done now that his father personally ordered it.

The Aegis' radar soon picked a unit leaving the Archangel which Athrun tensed up at in anticipation of weather it was the Strike or Hope but much to his disappointment it turned out to be the Mobile Armor.

Well it wasn't a high priority target but it was an enemy of Zaft none the less so for the moment Athrun would be content just focusing on it. What he failed to notice however was the Archangel's other hatch opening.

XXXXX

"I'm surprised you guys got this far with the new OS." Eric commented as he sat in the Strike's cockpit whilst the weapons of the Ail pack were equipped onto the mobile suit.

"Well it helped that we were able to take a look at the one tour machine had. Sped thing's up quite a bit." Murdoch replied over the radio.

While under normal circumstances Eric would never have any chance of effectively piloting the Strike but come to find out during the weeks the Archangel had spent with the Eighth fleet being repaired along with both mobile suits the Mechanics had taken time to look over and study the Hope's OS and use it as the basis for simplifying the Strike's. The OS was all but complete but at the least a Natural could effectively pilot it as long as it was in outer space.

Personally Eric would have preferred to pilot the Hope but according to Murdoch the thrusters still had to be brought online before he could sortie with it again.

"And just so you know after we're done fixing it up you're gonna be responsible for maintaining the Hope."

"Got it." Eric said cutting the connection before he was contacted by Mirriallia. "Eric Mu La Flaga already engaged the for stolen Gundams but he won't last long on his own.

"I know I'm about to head out to he give him some back up."

"You'd best hurry. And Eric."

"Yeah?"

"I know you don't particularly like the EA be me, Toll, and the others are glad you're here."

"After everything we've been through so far I couldn't just leave you all to fight this war on your own."

"Well just make sure both you and the lieutenant make it back safely."

"Will do." Eric said before cutting the connection.

"Eric Raglan, Strike launching." With that the Strike was flung forward by the catapult before Eric activated its phase shift armor.

XXXXX

"Dammit will you just die already? You can't beat us you worthless Natural!" Yzak yelled as he fired his railgun at the Mobius Zero which maneuvered out of the beam's path before his gun barrels separated from his machine's main body and he set each gun a target all four Gundam's simultaneously.

One successfully hit the Buster from the side while the Duel blocked the attack directed at it with its shield and the Blitz dodged the beam shot at it. All three suits were forced to pull away giving Mu some breathing room however the Aegis simply used its CIWS to the destroy the gun barrel targeting it before igniting the beam saber in its right arm and making a beeline for the Mobius Zero.

"Shit." Mu cursed under his breath as the Aegis moved closed and readied itself for a horizontal swing.

The Hawk of Endymion was all but certain it was the end for him before a familiar white, blue and red machine flew in the Aegis' path and block it beam saber with its shield while attempting an attack with its own beam saber only with the Aegis to use the same tactic to block its attack.

XXXXXX

Eric had to admit Mu La Flaga had to brush with death that was a little too close for comfort. Since Kira was still to injured to really fly any machine Eric would be left to fight all four G weapons alone and that was something he doubted he could do without that abnormal sensation he got when that seed appeared in his mind but that wasn't something he was sure of he could count on since he didn't know what brought it to the surface.

Needless to say Eric was glad he didn't show up a moment later or he wouldn't have been able to stop Athrun's attack. Much to Eric's dismay however Athrun also managed to block his counter. Acting quickly Eric took aim with his CIWS at the Aegis's chest or more precisely its cockpit and fired.

It obvious the CIWS wouldn't do any real damage let alone destroy the cockpit they did however rattle it violent enough that Athrun was forced to pull back long enough for Eric to put away the beam saber and switch to the rifle.

Wasting no time Eric fired at the Aegis only for it to block the shot with shield before returning fire cause Eric to pull to the side to avoid the beams whilst shooting back at his opponent.

Suddenly the Strike's side alarm went off alerting him to incoming attack before he pulled back narrowly avoiding a long beam from the Buster now using its sniper rifle which it began the process of splitting up.

"Eric I'll hold off the Buster and Blitz but you need to deal with the Aegis and Duel quick. The Archangel will be entering the Earth's atmosphere soon." Mu announced as he moved to engaged the Buster directly whilst sending two of his three remaining gun barrels to engage the Blitz

"Got it." Eric said as he continued trading fire with the Aegis until Athrun decided to switch to his machine's mobile armor form and utilize the Scylla cannon forcing Eric the climbing rapidly to avoid the blast. The self earned breathing room was not to last however as the Duel decided to finally enter the fray firing repeatedly at the Strike which Eric responded to by using his shield to defend against the attacks before deciding to put the Strike rifle away and taken out one of the Strike's knives before making a beeline for the Duel.

Yzak was caught completely off guard by the action. Surely the Strike's pilot had enough common sense to know that the armament was useless against the Duel or any of the Gundams due to their Phase shift armor.

Much to the Duel pilot's shock he had his expecting betrayed when the Strike plunged the knife into his rifle instead of trying to attack the main body. The following result was Yzak being forced to toss the armament aside before it exploded.

Not long after Eric attempted a quick draw attack with the Strike's beam saber only for the Duel to block the attack with its shield before Yzak pulled one of the Duel's beam saber and attempts to run the Strike through the cockpit but Eric was able to react quickly enough to avoid the attack via pulling to the side.

Yzak readied himself to charge the Strike but was impeded when it use it CIWS to pelt the outside of the Duel's patch causing the cockpit to shack violently before taking out its rifle and shooting the shooting the Duel in the right side of its chest before forcing Yzak to use his shield to a second shot.

Yelling out on anger Yzak retaliated with his railgun putting the Strike on the defensive as it pulled further away from the Duel.

Eric found his breathing room decreasing rapidly when the Aegis decided to ignite the beam saber in its right arm and close in on him. In response to the incoming attack Eric pulled out his beam saber and locked blades with the Aegis before the two separated and flew clashed blades once more.

The Strike shoved its shield forward bashing it into the Aegis before following up with a horizontal swing of it beam saber only for Athrun to parry the attack with an upward swing before bringing then weapon back down which was blocked Strike's shield.

Eric found himself caught off guard when the Aegis started hailing him over the radio. Answering it he was greeted with a window showing Athrun.

"Kira it's not t-What are you doing piloting the Strike? Where's Kira?!" Athrun demanded as he switched back to his beam rifle and fired repeatedly at Eric who had to either avoid or block the incoming beams.

"He's still recovering from his injuries from the fight with Barclay!"

"That still doesn't explain what you're doing piloting the Strike!" Athrun exclaimed whilst switching the Aegis to its MA form and utilizing the Scylla cannon forcing Eric to take evasive action to keep from being obliterated outright.

"The Hope was heavily damaged by the Fulfillment it's not ready tp be sortied yet." Eric answered honestly. He doubted Halberton, Ramius, Mu, or Natarle (especially not Natarle) would be happy with him sharing this information with the enemy but he couldn't care less. It wasn't like they were going to find out. Besides its not like it really jeopardized anything in the long run.

Before Eric could Retaliate to Athrun's latest attack the Strike's inner alarm went off alerting him to the Duel which now had its beam saber out and was making a beeline for him.

Eric simply pulled out of its path as it made an overhead swing and delivered a round house kick with the Strike's leg to the Duel's back as it passed by sending it a little ways away and knocking it off balance in the process before turning around to face the Aegis which had switched back its ms form and fired its beam rifle at Eric.

Due to the inadvertent distraction of the Duel's pilot Eric didn't have any time to dodge aor block the shot and the Strike how hit in the right half of its upper chest.

The damage didn't impeded the Strike's performance thankfully but a chuck of its armor had been disintegrated creating an exposed space that was more than a little vulnerable to further potential damaged that could very well prove fatal.

Unfortunately there little Eric could do aside from taking measures to assure the space wasn't subjugated to any further abuse for the rest of the fight.

It didn't help matters when Eric was contacted over the radio by a worried Mirriallia."Eric you need to hurry and return to the ship we're about to enter the Earth's atmosphere in the next six minutes."

"Roger." Eric said before severing the connection.

"Shit this is the last thing I need right now." He said to no one in particular out of frustration at the situation. First he already had the Aegis and Duel more so the former than the latter giving him a hard enough time as it was and the damage to the Strike's chest armor didn't exactly help matters so the news that the Archangel was getting extremely close only made things worse.

If Eric retreated now there was a strong chance one of his two opponents if not both would give chase and attack him from behind but if he continued to fight them like this he'd fall through the Atmosphere.

Theoretically the Gundams were supposed to be capable of atmospheric entry but that was unproved and more than a little risky by Eric's standards though in this particular case Eric doubted the chances of success with the damage to the Strike's chest.

It was probably safe to assume that even if the Strike was capable of such a feet under normal circumstances it would very much likely tear itself apart starting from the immediate area surrounding the damage to it Armor.

Much to Eric shock and relief however the Aegis began slowing its decent closer to the Earth before it began pulling away.

Eric began heading for the Archangel as fast as he could. A layer of the this flames began to manifest in front of the ship as it practically dived towards the Earth. A short distance away Eric caught a glimpse of the Buster firing its scatter shot before one of the gun barrels of the Mobius Zero took position at the gundam's side and shot it in the side of its face causing to it tp get caught in the Earth's gravity well

"Enjoy the ride down." Mu said before connecting to the Strike. "Eric we gotta get to the ship now!"

"I'm already on my way." Eric replied before the Strike's rear alarm went off and a voice he didn't care for yelled over an open channel.

"You're not getting away. You're gonna pay for getting in the way of my revenge and the Hope's next!" roared Yzak as with beam saber in hand gave chase after the Strike rapidly gaining on it.

'Are you kidding me? This guy's still intent of fighting?"

Unfortunely the answer to that question was made rather plain when the Duel came with striking distance forcing Eric to spin the Strike around to block an overhead swing from the Duel with his shield.

Due to the Duel's momentum the force behind it's attack enough to push the Strike downwards towards the Earth.

Things only continued to deteriorate when the Duel fired its missiles from its shoulder silo. Acting quickly Eric shot the explosive projectiles down with the Strike's CIWS before the Duel fired its railgun.

After avoiding the beams Eric glanced at the battery matter and growled in frustration upon the sight.

'Nine percent power? Are you fucking kidding me' Eric inwardly cursed as he put his beam saber away and switched back to the beam rifle.

It was bad enough he was getting ever closer to the planet's atmosphere and the Duel was still hell bent on fighting. With all the ranting the pilot was doing about wanting to fight the Hope a part of Eric found it a little Ironic how the pilot didn't realize they were up against the very person they wanted to destroy but that was irrelevant with everything else going on.

In short Eric already had a list of problems to deal with as things stood and the low battery power didn't ease matters.

Since there was so little power left Eric couldn't just spray in the Duel's general direction since it would simply waste what little he had left.

Dodging the repeated shots from the Duel's railgun Eric slowly tool aim at is head in hopes of forcing it to back off via taking out its main support camera.

Eric held his breath as he line the target up. He had to make this shot count. He had a few more shots before a was dry but he needed to end this skirmish ASAP so it was rather preferable if he hit the target the first time around.

It felt like an eternity before the targeting system was finally lined up with the target in question before and he finally fired.

Much to Eric's relief it hit its mark destroying a good portion of the Duel's head however instead of retreating as Eric had hope they would the enemy pilot engaged their thrusters at their maximum output and made a mad dash for the Strike.

"I'm not losing to you too!" The pilot yelled as they came ever closer until a shuttle dropped in front of their path forcing them to stop.

Eric had initially been led to believe the shuttle in question was carrying retreating soldiers, had that been actually been the case Eric would have preferred for it to have been destroyed by Zaft but upon closer inspection he came to the realization it was a civilian shuttle more specifically the one carrying the refugees from the destroyed colony Heliopolis.

Meaning Abram, the man Eric had come to think of and love as his father was on board.

Questions of why the shuttle was launching now of all times surfaced in the teen's mind. Why the hell didn't it launch before the fighting started? It would have been far safer that way. With it descending to the Earth now of all times there was a good chance it could get destroyed by an enemy unit.

Yzak scowled at the sight of the shuttle which stop him before raising his beam saber.

Timed seemed to slow down Eric desperately took aim at the Duel main body and attempted to fire the beam rifle. Much to his shock and dismay the armament didn't produce any beam. Eric glanced at the battery meter which was hitting the zero mark before the Strike's thruster's died down and it's phase shift armor lost its coloring.

As he was caught in the Earth's gravity well all Eric could do was watch as the Duel's beam saber came down. Moments before the weapon made contact with the shuttle Eric looked in one of the window to see Abram looking out at his mobile suit.

He didn't say anything or show any sign of panic, rather he simply closed his eyes as if in acceptance of his fate and smiled as if to convey a silent message to Eric. The teen pilot's mind went blank as the Duel's beam saber cut through the space shuttle's body and destroyed it outright.

"Daaaaaad!" was all Eric could bring him to scream as tears pored out of his eyes and the Strike went into a full on free fall forcing the Archangel to change its course to intercept it.

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter I hope you enjoyed the fight scene. I kind of wanted to mix it up with the combination of which pilot uses which machine hence why I had Eric use the Strike for this fight but just so there's no misunderstanding it was just for this one fight he's not using the Strike indefinitely his machine is still the Hope.**

 **And just so we're clear. To those who are think WTF why is Eric joining the EA when he hates them his opinion of them hasn't changed one bit. He joined them because he wants to protect Callahan and his friends which is more important then his personal hatred of the EA**

 **Yes given his character it'd probably make more sense for him to side with Zaft at first glance but what you're likely overlooking are two major flaws with that Scenario.**

 **First the war is a racial one between Naturals and Coordinators and due to Eric being a Natural he wouldn't be allowed into Zaft ranks plus even if he somehow was that would mean he'd have to hunt down and kill those who he's trying to protect.**

 **Beyond that review and let me know your thoughts on the chapter**


	13. Enigmtic enemy

**Ok here's the next chapter of Hopeful path so enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't disclaimer.**

* * *

The boy glared at the man with tear filled eyes who was in the middle organizing a number of surgical tools after he had taken him on the other said of the curtains.

As the boy continued his struggle he began jerking his head from side to side shortly before taking notice of another person laying on another gurney. The boy had no ides who they were since a while certain covered their entire body but it didn't matter to him as far as the boy was concerned other person may have been his only hope for escape.

"If you think that other subject will save you I would implore you to discard that notion now the more you try to cling to hope the more you'll only be met with despair." The man said with a hint of regret in his voice before grabbed an oxygen mask.

The boy attempted to keep his face turned to the side but the man simply grabbed a hold of his chin and forced him to face upwards whilst he put the mask over the boy's mouth.

"Human's are standing at the threshold of the true next stage of evolution."

The boy didn't understand what the man was saying but then again he was far too young to all he did know was he wanted to see his parents, again, he wanted to see his big sister.

"Should you survive this you're potential will be essentially limitless."

Again the boy couldn't comprehend the meaning of the man's words as he continued trying to break free of the bounds holding them to the gurney before they felt there consciousness began to fade.

XXXXX

Eric opened his eyes to find himself laying in the bed of what looked liked a doctor's office. "Ensign Ragland it's good to your awake are thought you'd be out for another day. Still it's a relief to know you are." A voice belonging to the Doctor said.

"What happened the last thing I remember is falling to earth."

"Well thanks to that the ship was forced to drastically change its original course to retrieve you and the machine you were using."

"Makes sense. Are we still anywhere near Alaska at least?"

The Doctor sighed. "Unfortunely no we land all the way in Africa…in Zaft controlled territory."

Eric's eyes widened considerably at the revelation. "You can't be serious! Does Zaft know we're here?"

"Wait here I need to go report that you're awake." The Doctor said ignoring Eric's question before leaving.

"Eric I'm glad you're alright." Another voice said and Eric looked across the room to see Kira laying on another bed.

"Kira. It's nice to see your recover is going well but I need to as does Zaft know were here?"

"I don't think so, they haven't attacked us yet."

"That good. We're safe for the time being."

Kira frowned. "You make it sound like they're going to eventually find us."

"That goes without saying. Our mobile suits are Zaft primary targets so they'll be looking for us and someone on their side had to seen us fall to Africa with the sheer size of this ship.

Kira slumped upon hearing this he had all but recovered enough to walk around and even fight again but he still had no desire to take part in the war or to kill anymore people then he already had. Truth be told he was really now hoping the ship could simply get to Alaska without anymore problems and it would lead to the end of the war soon after before he had to personally encounter anymore needless bloodshed.

"How are the others?"

"Well Sai's simply settling into his job, Kuzzy's on edge, Mirriallia and Tolle are at least doing ok."

"Good to know."

"Murdoch's a bit mad about the damage to the Strike though."

"Yeah sorry about that Athrun managed to shoot me towards the end of the fighting."

"Don't worry I'm not mad about it. Murdoch and Badgiruel are."

"makes sense. How are the rest?"

"Ramius and Mu are trying to figure out our next move."

"And Callahan?"

"I thinks its best you avoid each other."

"Yeah we already had a falling out."

"It got worse." Kira replied confusing Eric.

"How?"

"The shuttle Heading to Earth was destroyed."

"oh." Was all Eric could bring himself to say before his gaze dropped to the ground and he continued.

"I saw it with my own eyes, my Dad was onboard."

"Callahan is taking Abram's death really hard. He might be blaming you for it."

Eric scowled. "There wasn't anything I could do if I could have save them I would have made sure to."

"I know it's just Callahan thinks otherwise.

"That figures considering we haven't particularly been getting along since all this started."

"It's just a heat of the moment thing Callahan will come around given time I mean you guys are still brothers."

"Not by blood, besides you've always been closer to him then I have so on that account I know this is a bit inconsiderate but could you console him in the meantime."

"Uh….yeah ok."

"Thanks."

XXXXX

Atop one of the many sand dunes three Figures watched the Archangel via binoculars.

"So that's the EA's new ship called the Archangel?" A middle aged man known as Andrew Waltfield who was also the Commander of the Zaft forces state inquired.

"Yeah apparently it was forced to change it's course because of the Strike getting caught in the Earth's gravity well." Answered Waltfield's second in command Decosta.

"And the other one?" The person who spoke this time was the third figured in a feminine voice making clear they were a woman.

"It never launched from the legged ship during the fight in the planet's orbit it's likely still on the ship."

"In that case I'd like to help in testing out the ship's strength as well as the units on board."

Waltfield raised an eyebrow at this. "You realize you Machine's not suit for the desert right?"

"Be that is as it may my suit has atmospheric flight capabilities so I can simply just avoid directly traversing the sand.

"If you say so but try not to get to reckless."

"Don't worry if circumstances call for it I'll withdraw I'm not intending to get myself needlessly killed."

"I'll be holding you too that Lacus isn't going to be happy if her closest friend died."

"I know." The third figure responded. 'Though I doubt she'll be anymore happy if the pilot that saved here died by Zaft or High judgment's hand.'

The third figure's eyes narrowed. 'Raglan if you're still on board that ship I'd appreciate it if you don't give me a hard time but I'm guessing you're gonna do that no matter what.'

Walking down the third Zaft figure began walking towards where her personal DINN custom was crouched down in the sand on one know.

"It's gonna be another thirty minutes before the squad of assault choppers get here." Waltfield said.

"Alright I'll wait for them to arrive and head in first." The third figure replied before she finished making her way to her mobile suit. The unit in question had a frame identical to any other DINN but its color scheme was mostly jet block save for the chest and lower arms and leg which were all painted sky blue. it's Armaments were mostly the same save for a beam saber housed in the right middle multipurpose tube and a Schneider knife housed in the tube across from it. Mounted on its left leg was a beam rifle where a anti air shotgun would normally be the other leg still housed a rapid fire assault rifle.

Waltfield scratched the back of his head and sighed. 'Never seen her this eager to head into any fight before. I wonder if it has something to with the guy of that machine our forces didn't discover.'

XXXXX

Eric sat alone in the Cafeteria of the Archangel replaying the scene of the shuttle heading to Orb's mainland being destroyed and of the peaceful smile Abram had wore to convey something to Eric that he still couldn't figure out for the life of him. Not that it really mattered at this point since the teen pilot was essentially finding at a roadblock in his life.

What was he supposed to do now? The reason he stayed on the Archangel was to keep those he cared about safe much like Kira but what point was there if one of the last people he'd want to lose and who didn't deserve to be deprived of their future the way they were ended up losing their life regardless of what Eric had done so far.

It didn't help matters when the doctor was trying to inquire as to how Eric was able to recover from the fall through the atmosphere in spite of being a Natural and Natarle wanted to know that he'd be able to launch at a moment's notice or that Callahan hated him for something he couldn't do anything about. In short there were actually very few people that were showing any real sensitivity to Eric's personal situation.

Granted Eric didn't want any anyone's pity he simply desired some time alone though it wasn't doing him any good now that he was getting it for whatever limited amount he was able before something came up.

Now that he had lost Abram where exactly was Eric supposed to go from here?

What was he supposed to do?

He left the specs of Shiro's final creation in Lacus' care, The Hope's DNA lock was gone so anyone could pilot it now.

He couldn't possibly hope to defeat Barclay or bring down High Judgment.

And to top that off he was now fighting for a cause he didn't believe in.

With the way thing's were going it was starting to seem like the war was going to strip everything away from Eric until he had nothing more to lose which begged of the question that if he was going to lose everything regardless of what happened than what point is there in continuing to fight? What point was there in doing so to begin with.?

As he thought about it more Eric clenched his fist in anger whilst grief over Abram's death came to the surface of his mind causing tears to form at the corners of his eyes.

Remembering how the shuttle was destroyed by the Duel Eric began to feel his grief turn to hatred for the Duel's pilot before the alarm on the Archangel went off and Natarle's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Ensign Ragland report to the Hope immediately."

Eric simply groaned on annoyance. He really wasn't in the mood for another fight with Zaft forces when he hadn't even began coming to grips with Abram's death.

Reluctantly and wordlessly Eric began heading to hanger bay grabbing a flight suit on the way there where upon arrival he was greeted by Murdoch.

"We finally got done making final adjustments to your machine but try not to let it become trashed again. We already have our hands full patching up the Strike's chest armor."

"Right." Heading up the catwalk Eric quickly opened the Hope's hatch and enter the cockpit. Once he started the Gundam's systems up a window displaying Mirriallia's face appeared.

"Eric ms Ramius wants you to load your machine onto the catapult but don't launch just yet."

"Ok but is there a reason I'm not launching immediately?"

"we don't have any idea what the enemy has with them."

"Wouldn't it be a GINNs or CGUEs?"

"Not necessarily. Zaft forces don't use the same units on earth that they would in space." Ramius said over the radio before Mirriallia could reply to Eric's question.

"Could we make any guesses as to who the enemy might be based off of what Atmospheric units are known to us?"

"Doing that would be reckless. It's best that we wait until we know for certain before letting you lunch."

"Ok." Eric replied even though he was more than a little annoyed with the decision mot to simply go on the offensive.

'I don't want to drag this out any longer than I already have to.'

Another couple of minutes which felt like hours went by before Mirriallia contacted Eric again.

"The enemy has five assault choppers, Three wolf like units called BuCUEs, and one DINN."

"Got it." Eric said before turning his gaze to the opening hatch of the Archangel's leg.

"Eric Ragland, Hope, Launching."

The Hope was instantly flung forward by the catapult and out the leg of the ship. Upon landing any aim Eric could have taken was thrown off when the Hope's started slipping.

"What the hell's going on?!" Eric exclaimed before he remembered that during the simulation training back on Heliopolis Shiro explained that some Mobile suits and Armors were built primarily fighting in space while others were made for planet side combat but the simulation had a feature that allowed Eric to instantly just his unit's parameters for various environments.

Since the Simulation was based on the Hope it was a safe bet to say the Hope had that same feature.

Unfortunately however Eric couldn't remember where that said feature was and didn't have time to look for it and adjusting each individual parameter was out pf the question since Eric hadn't the slightest clue how to do so and even if he did he couldn't possibly hope to do so on the spot since he wasn't a Coordinator.

Since he couldn't fight to optimal effectiveness in the sand he had no choice but to utilize one other possible option he may or may not have had at his disposal, it all depended on if the Hope's capabilities were truly equal to those shown in the Simulation.

Pushing both arm handles forward simultaneously Eric increased the throttle to its maximum potential and much to his relief the Hope not only took to the air but maintained its altitude in the air.

XXXXX

Off in the distance Waltfield who was watching intently couldn't help but smirk. "So that other mobile suit is capable of Atmospheric flight in spite of lacking the thin armor design of the DINN. Whoever made that thing must have been pretty damn brilliant. And it's pilot realized pretty quickly that fighting in the sand's not gonna do him much good before he learned that the hard way, whoever this kid is he's no fool."

"How do you want to go about handling this?"

"Have our assault choppers engage the while our BuCUEs assault the legged ship."

"And Imogen?"

"So long as she doesn't do anything to reckless she can do as she pleases"

XXXXX

"I really wish I still had the Gatling gun right now." Eric muttered to himself as he took aim with his CIWs and fired upon the assault choppers taking one of them while the rest scattered.

Immediately the Archangel began using its AA guns to try out shoot down more but all the Zaft Choppers maneuvered out of the ships line of fire before swinging around to attack Eric Whilst the BeCUEs began firing at the Archangel with railguns mounted to their backs forcing the Crew to focus on them. Eric didn't have any time to worry about that since the Assault choppers were now firing missile at him which he was forced to either shoot down with his CIWs or block with his Shield.

Once the initial barrage ended Eric retaliated with his CIWs again taking out another chopper before two things happened he didn't particularly like.

First his CIWs ran out of ammo and second he found himself being pelted with rapid fired from the only DINN in the Zaft group currently attacking the Archangel which was utilizing its assault rifle before stopping as abundantly as it started likely due to its pilot realizing the armament was ineffective against the Hope's phase shift Armor.

Whatever relief Eric may have had was short lived when the DINN pulled out another rifle which turned out to be a beam type when it was fired forcing Eric to take evasive action before returning fire with a shot from his shoulder cannons forcing the enemy DINN to dodge giving the breathing room he needed to draw his beam rifle.

Before he could fire at the DINN however Eric found himself being hitting from behind with a missile from one of remaining assault choppers though by some stroke of luck the Hope's armor held up.

Much his Eric displeasure however he wasn't allow any time to try and return fire to the assault chopper the DINN made a beeline for him and deliver and hard kick to the torso of the Hope pushing it back.

"Dammit." Eric spat as he tried to take aim at the DINN before an Assault chopper strafed into his view poised to release it remaining missiles before another one hit it destroying it and jerking everyone's attention to a white jet that had taken to the air seemingly out of nowhere before it hailed the Hope revealing its pilot to be none other then Mu La Flaga.

"Kid I'll take care of the assault choppers you just worry about that DINN for now"

"Roger." Eric replied before to turning his full attention to the other aerial mobile which fired at him forcing him to dodge before he fired his shoulder cannon which the Zaft unit via climbing to a higher altitude before following up with his beam rifle which the DINN pulled to the side to avoid shots from whilst returning fire which Eric strafed to the side to avoid which resulted in both circling around each other trading fire with neither unit being able to land any actual shot on there opponent until the DINN's weapon ran dry

Eric took notice of this but before he could do anything to exploit the opening his opponent threw their weapon at him with surprising accuracy forcing him to swat it away with his shield before they dived after him pulling out a violet colored beam saber in the process.

Eric quickly pulled back avoiding an overhead swing before firing his beam rifle at his opponent who quickly maneuvered out of the path of the shots before the Hope's rifle also ran dry. "This is the last thing I need right now."

The DINN made a beeline for him before Eric fired his twin shoulder cannons forcing it to divert its course allowing him time to remount his rifle and switch to his beam saber.

It didn't take long for the DINN to make another beeline for the Hope which Eric responded to with his shoulder cannons which his opponent avoided but they maintained their course this time coming in for an overhead swing which Eric block with his own weapon causing emerald and violet blades to clash and lock in the process.

Eric was about to kick the enemy unit away but stopped short of the action when he found himself being hailed by them.

Against his better judgment Eric to decided to allow them to contact him. Soon a window was displayed showing the face of a girl around his age.

"Tell me. Are you Eric Ragland?"

Eric was taken aback by the particular question.

"Yeah but what does it matter?"

The other pilots face contorted in rage before she increased power to her machine's thrusters pushing her beam saber harder against the Hope's.

"Why the hell are you still piloting that machine?! Do you have any idea what you're fighting for?!"

Eric fired his shoulder cannons hoping to end the fight between him and the DINN's pilot right then and there but she quickly broke away and descended out of the cannons' path before either of the two could fire and retaliated with missile from the upper and lower multipurpose tubes on both sides of her DINN's chest which Eric was forced to block all of with his shield.

"Answer me!" The other pilot Demanded as she charge at the Hope quickly closing the distance and delivering a kick to its chest.

"I'm not here because I want to fight for the EA. I'm fighting to keep my friends safe." Eric said before firing his shoulder guns which the DINN once dodge before Eric tried firing again only to find out the shoulder were out of power.

Eric clenched his jaws in frustration. With the CIWs, beam rifle, and now his shoulder cannons all empty of ammo or power he had no long range weaponry and the only mid ranged one still at his disposal was the new beam boomerang added to his machine when it was modified by the eighth fleet's technicians. He wasn't entirely confident in a weapon he could only use once in battle but as thing stood he didn't have much of a choice.

Pulling the armament out from the Hope's rear skirt armor Eric quickly threw it at the enemy DINN which to his displeasure maneuvered out of weapon's path but the boomerang didn't simply fly off into the distance like one would have expected but rather it flew in an arc like path and came back around.

Imogen readied herself to charge Eric again but stopped in her tracks when her rear alarms suddenly went off but before she could even try to see what was headed her way the right leg of her mobile was cut off by the beam boomerang the flew off.

"What the…?!"

Eric took immediate advantage of the momentary distraction and charged the DINN ramming his shield into breaking a moderate amount of its armor before his own cockpit alarms went off alerting him to an incoming attack from below which he quickly pulled back to avoid only to discover it had came from the railguns of one of the BuCUEs that was originally combating the Archangel.

"Imogen pull back. You're no longer in any condition to fight."

Imogen glared in anger not liking the direction things had taken but accepted it none the less as she sighed in defeat before replying.

"Alright I'll leave things to the rest of you." with that Imogen began heading back towards the Zafe base.

Meanwhile Eric dived towards the BuCUE which shot at him trying to impale the unit with his beam saber. Unfortunately the BuCUE was quickly to react and pulled back before following up with a shot from its railgun.

Eric quickly took back to the air dodging the blasts aimed at him. Making another beeline for enemy unit only for it to pull back and out of his weapon's range before igniting a twin beam saber in its mouth and charging the Hope.

Upon seeing this Eric swiftly tried to take to the air again only for the thrusters to stop working. Eric looked around his cockpit and soon found a gauge indicating his machine was out of fuel making his Stomach feel colder than continent of Antarctica.

Without the ability to fly he'd have to fight directly in the sand which was next to impossible since his mobile suit could scarcely maintain its balance. It didn't help matters when the BuCUE made a direct beeline for him igniting its twin beam saber in the process.

Eric raised his beam saber to block the incoming attack but the second the weapons made contact the Hope was pushed back and toppled over on its back.

BuCUE didn't let up as it charged at him again leaping into the air intending to bring its beam saber down on the Hope's torso where the cockpit was located.

Eric closed his eyes waiting for oblivion before a crimson blast from launcher Strike's hyper impulse cannon destroyed the Zaft.

"Eric are you alight." Asked a worried Kira Yamato.

"Yeah but what are you doing here? Aren't you still injured."

"Yeah but I didn't want to leave you and Mu La Flaga to fight on your own and with how bad things were getting Ramius decided there wasn't any choice."

"How's your unit able to stand?"

"I adjusted its OS."

"I see. I'll leave the rest to you but please don't push yourself."

"Right." Kira said before propelling the Strike towards another BuCUE meanwhile a third BuCUE so an opportunity to take out the Hope.

"You might be able to fight in the air but you're nothing but another target on the ground." The Zaft pilot announced as they activated their twin beam saber and chose to attack the Hope head on believing it to be defenseless.

In desperation Eric brought his beam saber up and managed to get the Hope into a sitting positions before attempting to parry the incoming attack which resulted in the BuCUE being pushed to his right while the Hope was knocked onto its back once again dropping its Beam Saber in the process.

"Stop struggling. You already lost the moment you ran out of fuel." With that the BuCUE came at him again. Rolling the Hope on its side so it was facing the enemy unit Eric waited for BuCUE to leap at him where he the swung his shield upwards catching the units underbelly before rolling the Hope onto its back swinging his shield overhead in the process which resulted in the BuCUE being flung to his left.

The BuCUE wasted no time in moving in for another attack upon landing. Once it reach the Hope it slammed its left front foot into the Hope's shield before working its right front foot behind the shield. With mere seconds the BuCUE pulled back catching its right foot on the edge of the shield and ripping the defense armament from the Hope's hand as it raced backwards a couple of meters away from the Hope.

"You know how to put one hell of a struggle but this is where you die." The BuCUE pilot announced as they raced back towards the Hope intending to finish it off with their twin beam saber.

Eric gritted his in frustration as he wondered why things had taken such a bad taken such a bad turn. If only his mobile suit could perform as effectively in the desert as it could in space Eric would've been in a much better position to defend himself then he "currently was.

As the BuCUE came ever closer Eric began utilizing the option he drew his right Schneider knife. 'This had better fucking work!'

When the BuCUE came with attack range Eric brought his knife around before trusting it straight at the BuCUE's underbelly where the cockpit was located. The Zaft pilot was barely even able to register what was happening due to his guard being dropped from the belief that he had victory secured before the Hope's only remaining weapon pierced the BuCUE's armor and sent the Zaft pilot to oblivion.

Sighing a breath of Relief Eric push the remaining the BuCUE off the Hope and began searching the Hope's OS systems for a few painstaking minutes until he eventually found the environmental settings.

XXXXX

Kira was having just as hard of a time of it as Eric was. When he first launched he quickly found out the Strike couldn't properly stand on the sand until he adjusted his OS system but even just the BuCUE's mobility made them hard targets to hit since the launcher Strike couldn't keep up.

It was a relief when he managed to take out a BuCUE that almost destroyed the Hope but it also served to draw the attention of the two other BuCUE's briefly before one of them decided to target the Hope seeing as it looked like an easier target laying in the sand.

Kira would have moved to defend Eric again but the BuCUE that was still targeting him had started firing missiles at him forcing him to shoot the projectiles down before he attempted to retaliate with the impulse cannon which the BuCUE avoided via strafing whilst returning fire with more missile.

The Strike was forced to leap back before Kira tried to utilize the missile stored in the Stroke's shoulder but the action was met with the same result as the previous counters bit this time the BuCUE ignited its twin beam saber before charging the Strike head on.

Kira tried to fire the impulse cannon again but wasn't met with any actual results when it failed to fire. Kira glanced at the Battery meter only to discover the Strike was running out of power. "Are you kidding m!?" Kira exclaimed as the BuCUE continued coming closer.

The young Coordinator would have closed his eyes and waited for the end if a rocket hadn't seemingly came from nowhere which hit the BuCUE in its face causing it to stop dead in its tracks and catching Kira off guard until he noticed a number of jeeps heading his way. He could only stare at what was happening around him in bafflement until an unknown voice contacted over the radio.

"If you don't want to die go to the point I'm about to send you and lead the BuCUE to it."

Kira would have inquired as to who to was contacting but they had already cut the link. Since no other option was really available to him Kira looked at his radar and so the location in question marked and began making his way there.

XXXXX

"Eric are you ok?!" exclaimed a worried Mirriallia.

"Yeah now that I can finally stand in the sand."

"The Archangel is about to land be ready to board.

"Roger."

Personally Eric wanted to help Kira since he exhausted essentially all the Hope's weaponry save for a its other Schneider Knife that he didn't draw and having a nearly depleted battery he wouldn't be able to do much. Regardless however he was still extremely worried to the point his hands were shaking.

'Kira please don't get killed. Losing dad alone is hard enough to bear as it is.'

XXXXX

"Stop running you coward!" The pursuing BuCUE pilot yelled out as they switched their machine to tank mode to increased its speed.

Kira didn't bother with any reply as he repeatedly propelled the Strike into the air making long distance leaps.

'Please let whatever that voice plans to do work!' The young Coordinator thought desperate to come out of his current situation alive.

"Here the point that person mark but I don't see anything that's supposed to help! Were they setting me up?"

"I got you now!"

Kira tensed as the enemy unit came closer and closer. For a moment Kira had briefly been led to believe that he really has been set up until an explosion suddenly erupted in the finale BuCUE's path forcing it to stop dead in its tracks before another explosion came from the spot where the unit was standing destroying it outright.

Kira sighed a breath of relief. "Thank goodness that's over with but who….." he stopped in mid sentence when he spotted one of the jeeps parked in front of the Strike with two passengers that were exiting it one of which was the blond girl he and Eric had briefly Unusable to decide where to go from there Kira simply turned towards the Archangel and saw the rest of the vehicles parked in front of the Archangel with a group of people who looked to be locals from the look of them.

Before much time passed Kira suddenly found himself being hailed over the radio.

"Ensign Yamato come out of cockpit." Ramius' voice sounded which served to baffle the teen pilot but he complied regardless. After lowering himself to ground level and removing his catching the blond girl's attention as well as enraging her.

"Why are you of all people piloting the Strike." The Blonde girl demand before throwing a fist aimed at Kira's face who simply caught the fist with comical ease.

"You're that girl I met back on Heliopolis."

"Sp what of it?!"

"Well I uh…"

Kira was unsure of how to reply. Back when he met the person who was now berating him he hadn't expected to run into her again least of all in the middle of Zaft controlled territory

"Let go of me asshole!" The girl from Heliopolis retort pulling her hand away and slapping him in the process.

Before she or Kira could say anything more another voice. Another voice called.

"Cagalli!"

Upon hearing the other person who was in the vehicle call out the person who Kira figured was Cagalli judging from her reaction turned out and headed in the other persons direction at the same time Mu La Flaga had made his way over to where Kira was.

"So who was the lady going off on you, an ex girlfriend?"

"What?! N-no, she's just someone I met back when Heliopolis was attacked."

"I see. Still got to wonder though. What are the odds you'd run into her all the way put here?"

XXXXX

"Why did you let dad die!?" A yelled a grief strickened Callahan with tears flowing as he held two fist fulls of a quiet and none resistant Eric's shirt.

The Hope's pilot simply remained silent unsure of how to reply. When he came back to the ship he simply wanted to grab a minimal amount of food, eat, and head back to his room for the remainder of the day.

Much to his dismay Callahan was there and began demanding answers about why Abram was dead gaining the attention of everyone else present including their friends who looked on in worry save for Flay were was smirking at the sight. However Eric was still coming to grips with the loss of his foster father often hoping that this was a nightmare he'd wake from to find Abram and everyone else alive, well, and out of danger but the undeniable truth was that Abram was gone forever because of what the Duel's pilot had done.

"Answer me!" Callahan yelled.

"There wasn't anything I could do."

"What the hell's that suppose to mean? You were piloting one of the mobile suits built on Heliopolis."

"That's doesn't mean I could anything."

"bullshit. You would have succeeded if the Plant's little princess was on that shuttle."

It was Eric turn to become upset as turned to face Callahan directly whilst swatting Callahan's hands off his shirt.

"How the fuck would Lacus being on the shuttle change a thing?!" Eric yelled out.

"Because she's all you care about."

"What are you getting at?"

"You didn't save dad because you didn't care about or maybe you just let him die to get back at me for signing up with the EA."

"Go to hell. I loved him as family every bit as much as you did!"

"Then why didn't you fight to protect the shuttle he was the same way you protect Lacus when that Blue mobile suit was going to kill her in the process of destroying the Aegis or when the EA guy who tried to stab us all in the back said he was going to use her for his gain and rape her huh? Why didn't fight with the sudden burst of skill you showed on both of those occasions!?"

Eric grunted in frustration unable to answer. The truth was he wasn't able to fight the way Collahan was describing because the seed that seemed to bring about that level of skill never came to him during the battle of the eighth fleet but he could never tell Callahan(or anyone for that matter) that since he'd simply right it off as the worst excuse he ever heard.

Callahan didn't bother saying anything more as he fell on his hands and crying. Eric looked around the cafeteria and quickly discovered there wasn't a single person present who wasn't staring at him and the Kira, Mu, and a blond girl wearing a solider vest over her shirt were also there but he didn't pay it any real heed. Without another word Eric left the cafeteria and headed to his room.

"OK what was that about?" Cagalli who was originally intent on finding the Hope's pilot to get info about the machine stood where she was almost dumbfounded as she didn't expect to walk in on an argument as unpleasant as the one that just took place.

"Well Callahan and Eric really got into it because of what happened before we came down to Earth." Tolle said answering.

"Tolle! You shouldn't go around telling everyone about what just happened!" Mirriallia reprimanded.

"Hey sorry." Tolle said holding his hands up defensively.

"It's not like it's a secret considering there are more then a few people here that just witnessed it."

Mirriallia sighed unable to refute the truth of Cagalli's words before explaining to her what had happened with the civilian shuttle and how Abram who was Callahan's father and Eric's foster father was shot down by the Duel and how Callahan was blaming what happened on Eric.

"I see. So then that guy's the pilot of the other machine?"

"Yeah." Tolle answered.

"Well I wanted to get some answers from his about that machine but given what just happened I'll hold off on it, for now at least."

XXXXX

"You don't need to looked so glum we'll be able to repair your suit so you'll have another chance at fighting the Hope." Waltfield said.

"I know. I just wish I subdued him the first time."

Waltfield raised an eyebrow.

"Does the reason for that pertain to Ms Clyne?"

"Yeah, even though she doesn't say anything to the media when they badger her with constant questions about her relationship with the Hope's pilot she's come to care a great deal about him in the short time they met each other."

"Sounds like this pilot might be worth meeting personally of we ever get the chance."

"We will if I can capture him." 'Before he's killed by either our side or High Judgment's'

"If you think you're up to such a task. Though going from the last fight you had with him its not exactly going to be easy. The guy might be a natural but he's no fool to say the least."

"True he had enough sense to stay out of the sand while his machine still had fuel." Dekosta said offhandedly.

"I'm aware but regardless it's only a matter of rendering his suit inoperable." Imogen replied.

"That in itself won't be an easy task that guys suit isn't no slouch."

"True but that's more or less to be expected at this point given its track record."

"It's held out against the Zaft team that stole the other G weapons along with the Strike." Waltfield stated before continuing.

"Speaking of which I get the feeling that its pilot at least might just be a fellow Coordinator if their adjusting the Strike's OS is anything to go by."

"What about the Hope? It's pilot did the same the same thing." Dekosta point out.

"Maybe but unlike the Strike's pilot who did it amidst the fighting they weren't able to do until the fighting was already done and they seemed a lot slower with the process."

"Maybe but he's not lacking as a mobile suit pilot even if he's a Natural." Imogen stated.

"True he managed to take out a BuCUE even with the sand keeping him from standing his machine upright." Waltfield replied before wearing a contemplative smile.

"It looks like both of the pilots have more than a little potential as soldiers."

XXXXXX

Eric laid in his bed alone as the fight he had with Callahan played out in his mind.

" _Why did you let Dad die!?"_

His body curled up on his bed as he groaned and the scene of the civilian shuttle with Abram onboard sliced in half by the Duel has Abram simply gave Eric an odd smile as if to reassure him everything was going to be ok.

Tears began to pour from Eric's eyes as feelings of hatred for the Zaft team that stole the other Gundams back on Heliopolis took root in his heart.

While the Team may have simply been fighting to protect their homeland from the EA forces trying to force them back into oppression they were going to pay for Abram's death with their lives.

* * *

 **Ok that's another chapter down I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **And before anyone asks why Eric didn't instantly adjust the Hope's OS in the middle of the fight like Kira did you need to remember while Eric is pretty around the same level as the other Gundam pilots he's still a Natural and has many of the limitations of one which the fight scene is intended to capture.**

 **Anyway I'm off to work of A new reason to live now that I got Microsoft word on my PC.**


End file.
